Remis igen.
Lige som i de tre foregående League One møder mellem de to klubber blev der delt i porten da Pompey og Derby County spillede 2-2 i det TV-transmitterede topopgør. Dermed er forspringet ned til Bolton og tredjepladsen skrumpet til ni points. Der resterer fem kampe af sæsonen.
Der var to ændringer i startelleveren denne tirsdag aften, og den ene betød den første start i Pompey-trøjen nogensinde for Lee Evans da han overtog pladsen på midtbanen fra Owen Moxon. Den anden ændring betød at Joe Rafferty fik chancen fra start på bekostning af Zak Swanson. Kampen gav også et længe ventet comeback til Tino Anjorin, der fik de sidste tyve minutter på banen.
Den officielle kamprapport
Eftertanken
Det er en gammel traver, men når man ikke kan vinde, så skal man i det mindste sørge for, at man ikke taber. Det formåede vi, og dermed er vi oppe på 14 kampe nu uden nederlag. Samtidig har vi stadig ikke tabt mod et top 6 modstander. Det er efter 41 spillede kampe en imponerende bedrift især i en så forholdsvis jævnbyrdig liga, og den understreger, hvorfor at vi topper den. Her skal også gives kredit til Derby, som på dagen var rigtig gode. Vi har ganske vist tabt stort på samme bane til både Blackpool og Leyton Orient, men det var på deciderede off-days, hvor vi ikke selv leverede varen. Det gjorde vi i topopgøret, og vurderet på spillernes teknik og det generelle pasningsspil, ja så lignede Derby den stærkest spillende modstander som vi endnu har mødt i denne sæson. På den led er det ingen skam at spille to gange remis mod dem.
Et hurtigt liga-overblik
Hvis vi starter nedefra så var der ingen forskydninger under og omkring stregen da de fem nederste klubber alle tabte. Især Cheltenhams 1-2 nederlag hjemme mod Exeter var skuffende, i og med at de fire andre alle var oppe imod langt stærkere modstandere.
I toppen hentede Bolton som tidligere nævnt ind på os da de slog Reading med 5-2. Også Barnsley, Peterborough, Lincoln og Oxford noterede sig for sejre, så heller ikke i top syv skete der ændringer denne påskemandag. Bag dem smed både Stevenage, Blackpool og Leyton Orient til gengæld points, hvilket reelt hægtede de to sidstnævnte af kampen om sjettepladsen, der stadig indtages af Lincoln City.
Kommentarer fra head coach John Mousinho
“Having gone behind twice, it always feels a decent point and on the whole it was a pretty good performance against a top side. But for the way we dominated the ball, I’m slightly disappointed that we didn’t create a few more chances. Derby sat in and made it difficult for us to beak them down, then countered well with the pace of Mendez-Laing and Blackett-Taylor. It was probably the loudest I’ve heard it at Fratton Park and the fans responded brilliantly whenever we fell behind.”
“Our first goal was a brilliant move and the second was also excellent, albeit completely different with a strike from outside the box. You could see how difficult the conditions were – the wind was swirling around and it was incredibly wet. There were times when I thought it was in danger of being called off because it was getting boggy on the side, but the ground staff have done a fantastic job this season. We take the point and move on – but now we have to look to follow that up with a victory at the weekend. We obviously wanted to win the game. We’re still in a healthy position, however, and whenever we’ve drawn we look to win the next one.”
Et par ord fra Owen Moxon
“I was coming on in a game with such importance and Derby were sitting in and looking to catch us on the counter-attack. So I just wanted to make an impact as best as I could and thankfully I was able to score my first goal for the club. The first thing on mind was that I had a man coming up behind me, so I needed to protect the ball and get away from him. Once I did that, I just got my head down and hit it. I knew where the goal was and thought I had a good chance. I looked up and the ball was moving – I don’t normally strike them like that! But it was a great feeling to see it go in and then celebrate in front of the Fratton End. I’m buzzing with that and it’s just a shame it wasn’t to earn three points, but it’s another game unbeaten.”
“The initial reaction was that we’re disappointed not to win because we dominated the game. But when you actually take a step back and have a proper look at it, it’s points that they haven’t gained on us. Now we move on to Saturday and we’re aware of the position we’re in, but we’ve done nothing yet and our feet are still on the ground.”
League One, Fratton Park, 2. april 2024
Portsmouth – Derby County 2-2 (1-2)
23. minut: 0-1 Joe Ward
27. minut: 1-1 Abu Kamara
35. minut: 1-2 Joe Ward
77. minut: 2-2 Owen Moxon
Opstillingen (4-2-3-1): Norris; Rafferty, Raggett, Shaughnessy, Ogilvie; Evans (Moxon ‘59), Pack (anfører); Kamara (Whyte ‘90+1), Saydee (Yengi ‘70), Lane (Anjorin ‘70); Bishop
På bænken: Macey, Swanson, Sparkes, Moxon, Whyte, Yengi og Anjorin
Advarsler: Lane og Ogilvie
Udvisning: Ingen
Tilskuere: 20.129, hvoraf 2.154 var medrejsende Rams supportere
Interview efter kampen med John Mousinho
Interview med Owen Moxon
Kampens Højdepunkter
