Reserverne kørte Gillingham over.
Efter en lettere træg første halvleg satte vi efter pausen tingene på plads mod Gillingham, og fører dermed nu vores gruppe i EFL Trophy turneringen. Der resterer nu blot en udekamp mod Leyton Orient. En remis i den kamp vil være nok til at sikre førstepladsen uanset om vi i givet fald skulle tabe straffesparkskonkurrencen.
Grundet skader og udtagelser til landshold var der hele seks ændringer i startelleveren denne aften. Det betød bl.a. at Kusini Yengi fik chancen fra start mens akademispillerne Mitch Aston og Koby Mottoh fik plads på bænken. Begge spillede de sidste ni minutter af kampen.
Den officielle kamprapport
Kommentarer fra head coach John Mousinho
“It was a pretty emphatic second half after what was a poor first one – we just weren’t at the races. But for everything that we got wrong before the break, we then got right after it. Credit to the players for that. To put the game to bed and make it as comfortable as they did is something that I thought was really pleasing. It was a joy to watch. I didn’t have any frustration with the way we pressed and there was just one chance they had at the end when we switched off defensively. The only criticism is that we didn’t put the ball in the net a couple more times, but that’s being really picky.”
Et par ord fra Ben Stevenson
“It was quite clear that we didn’t start the game too well and we just seemed a yard or two off it. We were perhaps lucky to come in level at half-time, but we stepped up after the break and blew Gillingham away. I just think that we can start off a bit sloppy at times and that’s something that we’re looking to cut out. It was down to the players to liven up and so we regrouped, got behind each other and gave it a really good go. The main thing was getting the win, although on a personal level, of course it’s nice to score my first goal for the club.”
“I haven’t got too many in my career, but most of them do seem to be from outside the box and when it opened up, I only had one thing on my mind. We were really clinical after that and every time we went forward, it looked like we were going to score. We could have had a few more.”
“I’ve joined such a good squad and knew I’d have to be patient – when the team’s doing as well as we have been, there’s not much to complain about. It’s just about working hard and when my opportunity came on Saturday, I thought I took it quite well. Making my league debut was nice and I’ll grow in confidence with the more I play, looking to take those chances.”
EFL Trophy, Fratton Park, 10. oktober 2023
Portsmouth – Gillingham 5-1 (1-1)
11. minut: 1-0 Tino Anjorin
45. minut: 1-1 Jonny Williams
50. minut: 2-1 Ben Stevenson
54. minut: 3-1 Kusini Yengi
72. minut: 4-1 Abu Kamara
80. minut: 5-1 Ryley Towler
Opstillingen (4-2-3-1): Schofield; Swanson, Raggett (anfører), Towler, Sparkes (Mottoh ‘81); Anjorin (Morrell ‘46), Stevenson; Whyte, Saydee (Aston ‘81), Kamara; Yengi (Shaughnessy ‘63)
På bænken: Oluwayemi, Rafferty, Jewitt-White, Mottoh, Hume, Morrell, Aston og Shaugnessy
Advarsel: Towler
Tilskuere: 5.066, hvoraf 181 havde taget turen fra Gillingham
Post-match interview med John Mousinho
Kampens højdepunkter
Jack Sparkes.
Zak Swanson.
Gavin Whyte.
Abu Kamara.
Mitch Aston debuterte.