Et godkendt point på en svær bane.
Med intet på spil leverede vi en ganske god kamp da det endte 1-1 mellem Derby County og os. Resultatet betød at vi overhalede Wycombe i tabellen og er nu at finde på 8. pladsen. Den beholder vi dermed, hvis vi på sidste spilledag får mindst et point hjemme på Fratton Park mod netop Wycombe.
Som den ene af to ændringer i startelleveren fik Joe Morrell chancen fra første fløjt efter endt karantæne, hvilket siger noget om hans betydning for holdet. Dermed måtte Tom Lowery tage plads på bænken. Det andet nye ansigt blandt de startende var Joe Pigott, der afløste Harry Jewitt-White.
Den officielle kamprapport
Eftertanken
Med motivationen udelukkende hvilende på modstanderens skuldre viste vi reelt et ganske højt niveau mod Derby County, hvilket igen understregede, at vi har rykket os en del under Mousinho. Så i sidste ende blev det en kamp, som gave vores head coach endnu en idé om, hvad vi mangler i truppen med henblik på næste sæson. Et godt resultat næste weekend mod Wycombe vil også give os en relativt godkendt afslutning på sæsonen.
Colby Bishops scoring betød at han nåede op på 20 af slagsen, og han bliver en vigtig brik i næste sæsons trup, for man rykker ikke op uden en gedigen målscorer. At der kræves offensive forstærkninger er til gengæld indiskutabelt. Vi har i skrivende stund scoret mere end 20 mål færre end klubberne i top 4.
Et hurtigt liga-overblik
Med sejre til Plymouth og Ipswich blev de to direkte oprykningspladser fordelt allerede i næstsidste spillerunde. Tre points til Sheffield Wednesday fik ingen betydning da The Owls med én kamp tilbage er fire points bag The Tractorboys. Derbys pointtab hjemme mod os kunne have kostet dem 6. pladsen, men de slap med skrækken da Peterborough lidt overraskende måtte nøjes med 0-0 på egen bane mod Bristol Rovers. Bolton, derimod, sikrede sig en play-off plads med en hjemmesejr på 2-0 over Fleetwood Town.
I bunden af rækken er tre af fire nedrykkere stadig uafklaret, og der venter et sandt drama i sidste spillerunde. Det endelige udgangspunkt hænger dog stadig ikke fast da Cambridge har en midtugekamp ude mod Burton i baghånden. Sikkert er det dog at de tre nedrykkere skal findes blandt kun fire klubber: MK Dons, Morecambe, Cambridge og Accrington Stanley.
Kommentarer fra John Mousinho
“We want to make sure that we finish the season strongly and that performance represented a real improvement on other away games against top six sides. We’ve lost to Plymouth, Peterborough and Barnsley, but we’ve come to Derby and taken a point from a difficult match. There were periods of the game when we were excellent against a side who have everything to play for. We were awful in the first 20 minutes and didn’t seem to be able to get going – we were sloppy and didn’t win first or second balls. It was a real concern because we were all over the place and we wanted to encourage the lads to be a bit more aggressive. All of a sudden, we decided to step up five yards and the goal came from Di’Shon winning a header and then us winning a second ball. It was a moment of real quality and my message at the break was that if you get the simple things right, then we know we’ve got the players who can create and score goals. We were a much better side after that and looked brave on the ball, while managing things sensibly, which was a relief after that opening. We did get a bit too deep in the second half and panicked slightly, but we dealt with Derby well and there were few chances created.”
Et par ord fra Ryley Towler
“It’s always going to be tough coming to Derby, especially when they need points to get into the play-offs. But I thought we did really well after the first 20 minutes, playing some nice football and creating a few chances. We had to dig deep towards the end to get the point and we battled really well to make sure we got the job done. They had a lot of early chances, but it settled down after that and the important thing was that we were still in the game. We scored and then probably should have got a couple more goals during that period, although I think we’re pleased overall. We’re looking to end the season in a positive way and so now we want to make sure we win the final game.”
League One, Pride Park, 29. april 2023
Derby County – Portsmouth 1-1 (0-1)
24. minut: 0-1 Colby Bishop
71. minut: 1-1 James Collins
Opstillingen (4-2-3-1): Macey; Rafferty, Bernard, Towler (Robertson ‘84), Ogilvie; Pack (anfører), Morrell; Lane, Pigott (Raggett ‘84), Jacobs (Dale ‘70); Bishop
På bænken: Oluwayemi, Thompson, Lowery, Scarlett, Robertson, Raggett og Dale
Advarsler: Towler og Morrell
Udvisning: Ingen
Tilskuere: 31.744. Heraf 3.120 medrejsende Pompey fans.
Post-match interview med head coach John Mousinho
Kampens højdepunkter
