Et fint point på udebane

Hvad skal man sige? To ferieramte hold delte pointene, og vi fik dermed et enkelt med tilbage til sydkysten. I tabellen ændrede det ikke noget andet end vi nu kun kan gøre os forhåbninger om at ende på 13. pladsen, hvis vi selv vinder sæsonens sidste kamp mens andre resultater er os venligt stemte.

Lidt som ventet blev der roteret i truppen til opgøret i Sheffield. Således var der hele fem nye ansigter i startelleveren. Ben Killip fik sin første start i Pompey-målet mens der også for første gang i to måneder var en startplads til Conor Shaughnessay. Også Terry Devlin fik chancen fra start sammen med Harvey Blair og André Dozzell.

Den officielle kamprapport

https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2025/april/26/match-report–sheffield-wednesday-v-pompey/

The Championship, Hillsborough Stadium, 26. april 2025

Sheffield Wednesday – Portsmouth 1-1 (1-1)

09. minut: 1-0 Callum Paterson

23. minut: 1-1 Harvey Blair

Opstillingen (4-3-3): Killip; Devlin, Shaughnessy (Poole ’46), Atkinson, Ogilvie; Hayden (Pack ’71), Potts, Dozzell (Lang ’71); Blair (Gordon ’59), Bishop (anfører), Murphy (Bramall ’86)

På bænken: Schmid, Ritchie, Saydee, O’Mahony, Poole, Pack, Lang, Gordon og Bramall

Advarsler: Shaughnessy og Dozzell

Tilskuere: 28.346, heraf 2.801 medrejsende Pompey supportere

Eftertanken

Med intet andet end æren på spil handler det i de sidste kampe udelukkende om at slutte sæsonen af på en fornuftig måde. Første skridt blev taget mod Sheffield Wednesday, hvor det point som vi stod med efter Blairs udligning egentlig aldrig var truet da hjemmeholdet ikke fandt nogen grund til at presse på for sejren mens vi heller ikke for alvor gik efter alle tre points. Hvorfor risikere en skade i en kamp der ikke har betydning? Med det ene point i sækken var der næppe sure miner heller hos de medrejsende supportere. Sammenfattende gjorde pointet ikke meget i regnskabet, og vi har stadig betalt dyre lærepenge på udebane i denne sæson, hvor vi er næst dårligst af alle. Samtidig har ingen lukket flere mål ind på fremmed græs end os. Det må og skal blive bedre i næste sæson, hvor det må formodes at de to oprykkere (indtil videre) fra League One, Birmingham City og Wrexham, kommer til at gøre en god figur. Altså skal vi tilsvarende løfte niveauet for ikke at ende i nedrykningsstriden igen. Men den tid den sorg. Nu handler det om også at slutte godt af i sæsonens sidste kamp, og modsat kampen på Hillsborough står der i den grad noget på spil næste lørdag på Fratton Park når Hull City kommer på besøg.

Et lynhurtigt liga-overblik

Bringes i stedet i forbindelse med optakten til sæsonens sidste kamp hjemme mod Hull City.

Kommentarer fra head coach John Mousinho

“It’s a good point at the end of an emotional week when we managed to confirm our Championship status. We had nothing much to play for on paper, so I’m really pleased with the effort shown by the lads throughout. Harvey came in and looked lively at times, but probably struggled after the first 25 minutes, which is a big lesson for him. It’s been a tough season at times, so I’m delighted that he’s come in to score his first senior goal. He should be excited about his future.”

“There may have felt less pressure about the game, but we still wanted to compete and there was a lot of character on display. Take Norwich out of it and we haven’t been able to see away matches out, but against a side with the quality of Sheffield Wednesday we managed to do that. The fans have been long suffering on the road, so it was nice for them to be able to travel all the way up and see us claim a point. I’m glad we were able to reward them for their excellent support.”

Et par ord fra Harvey Blair

“I’m buzzing because it’s been a difficult season for me, but with hard work and the right mindset, I’m getting there. I’ve grafted every single day since I was four years old just to get to this stage and it came from a wonderful cross from Murps, as per usual. We were speaking before the game about how if he got the ball out on the left, then I had to get into the box. Thankfully I was there to tap it in and I didn’t know what to do to celebrate, but it just felt absolutely amazing. It was massive for the team because we’ve been doing so well recently and want to make sure that we finish the season strongly. I’ve been working my socks off and waiting for my opportunity, so when it came I had to make sure I was on point and doing all my defensive duties. There are loads of lessons that I can take from this game and with this being my second start, I was cramping up a bit. But I enjoyed it so much and it feels great to be out there and playing. The boys have been amazing all season and I can’t fault them. The fans have also been great in every single away game and so I’m delighted that they were able to see us collect a point.”

Interview efter kampen med John Mousinho

Interview med Harvey Blair

Kampens Højdepunkter