Bishop sikrede vores første hjemmesejr.
I andet forsøg lykkedes det at sikre tre points foran egne supportere da sæsonens første hjemmesejr blev en realitet med 1-0 over Exeter City i en kamp som vi i det store og hele dominerede fra start til slut. Det betyder, at vi nu har syv points fra de tre første kampe, hvilket er nok til at placere os på en fjerdeplads i rækken om end det er svært at drage nogen form for konklusioner på dette tidlige tidspunkt.
Der var to ændringer i startelleveren denne tirsdag aften. Alex Robertson fik for første gang chancen fra start mens også Anthony Scully var med fra første fløjt. I stedet måtte Christian Saydee og Abu Kamara tage plads på bænken. Her befandt sig lidt overraskende også Kusini Yengi hele kampen.
Den officielle kamprapport
Eftertanken
Tre kampe inde i sæsonen er det umuligt at drage konklusioner af nogen art. I stedet kan vi konstatere, at vi har fået en fornuftig start, og samtidig understrege vigtigheden af, at hente en sejr på Fratton Park før manglen på samme blev til et samtaleemne. Ydermere ser det ud til, at vi har fået en lille juvel i form af Alex Robertson, der næppe bliver hængende i League One mere end denne ene sæson. Også Will Norris skal nævnes her. Endelig har vi fået noget der ligner en stabil keeper, der ikke er på udlån. Hans refleksredning kort før tid var reelt lige så vigtig som Colby Bishops scoring.
Et liga-overblik efter tre runder
Tre klubber står stadig med maksimumpoints. Bolton blæser bare derudaf med tre scorede mål i snit, mens det heller ikke er så overraskende at Peterborough står noteret for tre sejre. Specielt 3-1 hos Barnsley i går understreger, at man igen skal regne med The Posh i toppen af rækken. Til gengæld forventede de færreste, at også nyoprykkede Stevenage ville lægge så flot fra land, men sejre mod Northampton, Shrewsbury og Cambridge har givet ni points for de tre kampe.
Derby County har åbenbart svært ved at håndtere favoritrollen, for de har tabt begge deres første hjemmekampe mod hhv. Wigan og Oxford. Også Wycombe kom skidt fra start med 0-3 mod Exeter og Lincoln. De fik dog lidt oprejsning i går med 3-2 mod Leyton Orient, men har altså ladet hele otte mål gå ind allerede.
Under stregen finder vi Burton, Cheltenham (vores næste modstander) og Leyton Orient, der alle er noteret for nul points. Sidst er ganske vist Wigan med minus et, men de lagde som bekendt ud med en pointstraf på minus otte, hvilket de altså næsten allerede har godtgjort med to sejre og en remis i deres sæsonstart.
Kommentarer fra John Mousinho
“I’m absolutely thrilled with the goal and the way Colby leads the line really sets the tone for our press. He’s physical, he’s strong, he doesn’t stop running and when he gets a chance, he puts it in the back of the net.”
“It was Alex’s full debut for us and the adjustment to league football from Premier League Two is vast, but he grew into the game, becoming more of a threat as it went on.”
“Ultimately, getting the goal when we did was brilliant and I thought we deserved it after a different kind of win at the weekend. The only criticisms I had is that we have to put away those opportunities before the break and then once we’d got the lead, we needed to put our stamp on the game more. The final thing – and I don’t want to be too down on them – is that we didn’t manage things particularly well in the final 10 minutes. There were some rash decisions and although it’s a youngish group, there’s enough experience there to do a bit better. I felt that any opportunity they had to level would be gifted to them and Will had to dig us out at the end.”
Et par ord fra Alex Robertson
“It was awesome. The fans were brilliant and the match worked out because we got the three points. There’s not much more I can ask for – maybe a goal, but there are always more games to come for that. I would have liked to get the ball a bit more, but that comes with settling in and there were a few occasions where I could have scored. We defended and attacked well and it was an all-round good performance. We fought hard to get the win. I could hear the fans all night and it’s something I’ve never really experienced – that’s the whole point of the loan. I loved it. It was exciting and I just wanted to get into the game and be able to do my thing to impress and excite them. Even the night before, I couldn’t really sleep and I just wanted to do my best for the badge and for the team. Now I’m looking for a goal or an assist and to try to be a bit more creative in the final third, but hopefully that will come with a bit more game time.”
Og et par fra Colby Bishop
“We’ve given ourselves something to build on and the atmosphere from the fans was amazing. I can’t tell you what a difference that makes. There are going to be games when sides look to make life difficult for us and we all have to remain patient. It’s about waiting for the right moment to come along and of course it’s nice for me to score at the Fratton End. Exeter are a good team – you can see that from their previous results this season – so it’s a pleasing night. The score doesn’t really matter – we just want to win. That’s exactly what we’ve been able to do, so we’re delighted.”
League One, Fratton Park, 15. august 2023
Portsmouth – Exeter City 1-0 (0-0)
70. minut: 1-0 Colby Bishop
Opstillingen (4-2-3-1): Norris; Rafferty, Poole, Shaughnessy, Ogilvie; Morrell (Raggett ‘90+2), Pack (anfører); Whyte (Sparkes ‘68), Robertson (Saydee ‘81), Scully (Kamara ‘68); Bishop
På bænken: Schofield, Swanson, Yengi, Raggett, Sparkes, Saydee og Kamara
Advarsler: Poole, Sparkes, Robertson, Ogilvie og Shaughnessy
Tilskuere: 17.592 heraf 530 medrejsende fans fra Exeter
Post-match interview med John Mousinho
Post-match interview med Colby Bishop
Interview med Alex Robertson
Kampens højdepunkter
Anthony Scully.