Vi sled os til pokalsejr.
Trods en lettere usammenhængende slutning på kampen lykkedes det os at slå MK Dons med 3-2, og vi fik dermed hentet den anden pokaltriumf i denne uge. Lodtrækningen til den potentielt givtige 3. runde finder sted mandag aften.
Der var fire ændringer i startelleveren fra sidste fredags kamp mod Derby County, og to af dem var forcerede da hverken Owen Dale eller Dane Scarlett fik den håbede tilladelse af deres respektive moderklubben til at spille pokalkamp for os. Derudover måtte Conor Ogilvie og Josh Koroma se på fra bænken fra start. Ind for de fire kom i stedet Denver Hume, Michael Morrison, Ronan Curtis og Reeco Hackett. Grundet diverse skader havde vi fire akademi-spillere på bænken på trods af, at de havde været i aktion tidligere på dagen: Brian Quarm, Josh Dockerill, Adam Payce og Koby Mottoh.
Den officielle kamprapport
Eftertanken
Hvad der så forholdsvist bekvemt ud blev nervøst efter gæsternes reducering til 3-2, og det understregede, at mentaliteten på holdet stadig bærer præg af stimen af kampe med mange pointtab. Samtidig var det tydeligt, at der stod meget på spil med et muligt indtog i 3. pokalens tredje runde, der kan blive et godt udstillingsvindue for spillerne. Med til historien om afslutningen på kampen hører selvsagt også fraværet af en stadig pæn håndfuld erfarne spillere, der kunne have givet ro på i den sidste halve time af kampen, men heldigvis gik det alligevel, og holdet fik en vigtig sejr med i rygsækken til når det går løs i ligaen igen næste weekend hos Wycombe.
Kommentarer fra manager Danny Cowley
“We’re really pleased to have navigated our way through two really tough cup ties in the past few days. There were only 15 fit senior players available and we had four of our scholars on the bench, who had all played for the academy in the morning. We were facing a possession based side with no Dane Scarlett or Owen Dale, who are arguably our most aggressive pressers, so it was probably the worst draw available for us. But I thought we did really well up until after we scored the third goal – with Jay Mingi excellent in the first half – and then it wasn’t quite right. We started to play for the end of the game and were disappointed with that last half-hour because we lost momentum. When that happens, though, you need to dig deep and show a lot of fortitude and character – that’s exactly what we did. The supporters were great because they could see the energy was low and stayed right with us to get the boys over the line.”
“I always remember the big games this club have had in the past and the intensity of the atmosphere at Fratton Park. That would transcend through my television set, so to get a Premier League club at home would be special.”
Et par ord fra Reeco Hackett
“It was a really good result and I thought we played well in the first half after changing the system. That’s never easy and you have to adapt to it, but we managed the game and reacted well to conceding the first goal. There were a few moments after the break when we could have done better. We didn’t have the possession and when we won the ball back, we didn’t look a threat. Obviously there’s a lot to work on, but we won the game and in a cup tie, that’s all you really need to do. We’re missing some players, with a few injuries and a couple unavailable, so we’ve got through it well. There are a lot of leaders and big characters in this group and going into the last 20 minutes, we were strong enough to deal with the pressure.”
FA Cuppens 2. runde, Fratton Park, 26. november 2022
Portsmouth – MK Dons 3-2 (2-1)
19. minut: 0-1 Darragh Burns
22. minut: 1-1 Reeco Hackett
35. minut: 2-1 Colby Bishop (straffespark)
48. minut: 3-1 Colby Bishop (straffespark)
61. minut: 3-2 Mohamed Eisa
Opstillingen (3-4-1-2): Griffiths; Morrison, Raggett, Robertson (anfører); Swanson (Koroma ‘81), Mingi (Tunnicliffe ‘81), Pack, Hume (Ogilvie ‘59); Hackett; Bishop, Curtis
På bænken: Oluwayemi, Quarm, Dockerill, Payce, Mottoh, Pigott, Koroma, Tunnicliffe og Ogilvie
Advarsel: Ingen
Udvisning: Ingen
Tilskuere: 8.056, hvoraf 203 var medrejsende Dons supportere
Interview efter kampen med manager Danny Cowley
Interview efter kampen med Reeco Hackett
Kampens højdepunkter
