Skarpheden manglede.
Trods flere store muligheder lykkedes det blot at komme på måltavlen en enkelt gang, og så tabte vi den syvende udekamp på stribe da det blev til 1-2 hos Sheffield United. I tabellen ændrede det intet. Vi er stadig placeret på en 20. plads i rækken, men har nu spillet en kamp mere end nogle af konkurrenterne bag os.
Der var ingen ændringer i startelleveren på denne råkolde eftermiddag i februar. Til gengæld fik både Adil Aouchiche og Kaide Gordon deres respektive debuter i Pompey-trøjen da de blev skiftet ind i 2. halvleg.
Den officielle kamprapport
https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2025/february/08/match-report–sheffield-united-v-pompey/
The Championship, Bramall Lane, 8. februar 2025
Sheffield United – Portsmouth 2-1 (1-1)
24. minut: 1-0 Gustavo Hamer
27. minut: 1-1 Conor Ogilvie
73. minut: 2-1 Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
Opstillingen (4-2-3-1): Schmid; Swanson, Shaughnessy (Matthews ’82), Atkinson, Ogilvie; Potts (Pack ’90), Dozzell (Gordon ’82); Ritchie (anfører) (Aouchiche ’72), Lang, Murphy; Bishop
På bænken: Archer, Devlin, Bramall, Hayden, Saydee, Matthews, Pack, Gordon og Aouchiche
Advarsel: Atkinson
Tilskuere: 29.104, hvoraf 2.514 var medrejsende Pompey supportere
Eftertanken
Det er i den grad stof til eftertanke, at vi kan spille så godt på en svær bane og en stærk modstander, skabe så mange store chancer, men alligevel gå fra banen uden points. Det er den gamle historie om at det ofte hævner sig når man ikke scorer på sine muligheder, og lidt om at den kloge narrer den mindre kloge, forstået på den måde, at klasse nogle gange viser sig i form af kølighed foran mål. Spørgsmålet er så om vi reelt kan bruge kampen til noget, og lære af den? Vi har tidligere stået samme situation hos Plymouth og Hull, som også var to kampe som vi efter spil og chancer skulle have vundet, men ikke gjorde. Transfervinduet er lukket nu, og selv om vi hentede forstærkning til bredden i angrebet i form af Thomas Waddingham, så fik vi ikke hentet den Championship-erfarne angriber som vi reelt mangler i truppen. Savnet af en sådan var mærkbart i går, for Colby Bishop virkede igen anonym, hvilket er forståeligt da han har spillet meget siden han kom tilbage. Han ligner én som har brug for en pause. Dermed er der lagt op til ændringer på tirsdag mod Cardiff, der nu ligner en kamp der faktisk skal vindes – og på ingen måde må tabes.
Et hurtigt liga-overblik
Grundet 4. runde i FA Cuppen var det en lidt amputeret spillerunde, og fordi at nogle af kampene af hensyn til pokalen var rykket frem til midtugen. Her led Oxford det første nederlag under ledelse af Gary Rowett da The U’s tabte med 0-1 hos Burnley. Fokuserer vi fortsat på bundkampen så meldte Swansea sig nok ud af den igen med tre points hos Bristol City mens Derby County bag os fik tilkæmpet sig et point hos Norwich City uden den fyrede Paul Warne. I toppen blev det altså til sejr til Sheffield United og Burnley. Også Leeds vandt deres kamp og fastholdt topplaceringen, men Sunderland smed to points da de blot blev til 2-2 hjemme mod Watford.
Kommentarer fra head coach John Mousinho
“It’s a difficult one for us to take considering how well we performed and the number of chances we created. It was a well executed press from us and we recognised the times when we could get pressure higher up the pitch and when we should drop in and let them have the ball. You could hear how well we were doing that from all the moans and groans coming from the Bramall Lane faithful. We frustrated a good Sheffield United side for most of the afternoon and the mood in the changing room afterwards reflected how gutted we are. The only criticism of the boys that I have is that we didn’t put the ball in the back of the net more because we certainly had the opportunities. We just needed to be more clinical in those moments because there was constant pressure applied by us. When we did hit the target in the second half, it was ruled offside – unfortunately, it just wasn’t our day.”
“There were plenty of positives from us and we saw what this side is capable of doing away from Fratton Park. We were excellent and didn’t get what we deserved, but if we keep playing like that, then we’ll be okay this season. The boys were really down afterwards, but we’ll pick them up by Monday and be ready to go again.”
Et par ord fra Josh Murphy
“We dominated from start to finish – it didn’t look like we were the side in a relegation fight and they were going for promotion. It’s definitely disappointing, but we can certainly take a lot of positives going into the game on Tuesday. Performances like that show that we’re probably a lot better than we might think and so we should have more belief. We played well, created so many chances and could have left with three or four more goals, so that’s frustrating because we’re in an industry where it’s all about the points. We’re looking a bit more solid now and are starting to do the right things at the right time to not get picked off. It also seems a lot more settled, with fewer injured players, and we’re not having to rely on Marlon as a defender, for example – even though he was brilliant there. Could we have done better with the goals that Sheffield United scored? Probably. But that doesn’t matter if we put our chances away. There are a lot of positives, though, and so we should go into the Cardiff game at Fratton Park with plenty of confidence.”
Post-match interview med Mousinho
Kampens højdepunkter