Football is a game of clichés without
a shadow of a doubt, but anyone in attendance of Saturday’s away match to MK
Dons will have been treated to a show that suggested football really is a game
of two halves. In the first half and first twenty minutes especially Pompey
looked sublime on the ball; like a host of marauding lions charging forward as
herds of gazelle and wilder beast did their uppermost to get out of the way and
remain with their lives intact. Despite skipper Brian Howard’s second penalty
miss in a week, Pompey cantered to a 2-0 lead with goals from McLeod and Gyepes
and everything was looking easy. I’m not suggesting that MK Dons didn’t come
close on occasions and the space and time they were given on the right wing all
half should possibly have born more fruit than it did, but all was going to
plan until the youngster Adam Webster inexplicably turned the ball into his own
net with no one around. Half time with the score 2-1 and a game that had
largely seemed out of reach with Pompey coasting in mid gear suddenly turned on
its head.
MK Dons came out of the starting
blocks, no doubt with a flea in their ear from manager Karl Robinson and from
that point on it became a case of when they would equalise and not if. Post
game manager Michael Appleton hailed the side’s performance as the best of the
season but the Pompey fans in attendance will be left wondering how a side so
in control in the first half had failed to come away with a third straight win
for the first time in 18 months. They simply capitulated to the onslaught of a
side that is yet to lose at home all season. The points were theirs in the bag
on the first half display yet in the second half the game plan seemed to go out
of the window. In the end Appleton’s side gamely held on for a point. It should
have been such a different story. Whilst the Dons manager made full use of his
substitutions, Appleton once more failed to act quickly enough, waiting until
the last few minutes of the game to bring on Jordan Obita and new signing Akos
Buzsaky with no real time for either player to make an impact on the game. In
the end a game that promised so much ended with just a point to make seven from
a possible nine in a week but it should have been all nine. Appleton seemed the
only person behind Pompey that afternoon that believed his side was good enough
to defend a 2-1 lead for a full 45 minutes and it was no surprise that they’re
not good enough just yet to do such things. The one real credit from the second
half was the performance of Adam Webster who wouldn’t let his head drop and
battled on superbly despite his mistake in the first half which brought MK
right back into the game. This month will see the 26th anniversary
of my first game at Fratton Park and I can say hand on heart that I’ve seen the
heads of players far more experienced drop for far lesser mistakes which only
serves to make the way Webster came through the second half all the more
impressive.
All moaning aside though about
what could have been the fact remains Pompey are now three games unbeaten and
if they can replicate the first half performance over a full 90 minutes of play
then fans will have genuine hope for the remaining months of the season. A few
games ago Michael Appleton stated publically before the Notts County game that
the season started now. Whilst we may have lost that game quite convincingly,
seven points from nine will be a clear indication that finally the season is
now underway and with the threat of losing ten points on exit of administration
still hanging over the clubs head, at least now when it comes Pompey will start
with their points tally in the plus rather than the negative, even if it’s only
two points for now. The weight of a huge albatross will have been lifted from
their shoulders and tonight’s game will be a timely distraction away from
league matters. There will be no pressure on the player’s shoulders even if cup
games bring the possibility of an upset no matter who is playing. Whist the JPT
brings about a chance of reaching Wembley and a nice day out for the fans, no
one will really be disappointed if Pompey are left to concentrate on the league
having been knocked out.
The tie against Wycombe Wanderers
brings interest not in the cup competition especially, but more for the fact
that the opposition are owned now by their supporters trust having been taken
over in June of this year. Caretaker Manager Gareth Ainsworth will be hoping a
shock win will kick start their season for his side which currently sits third
bottom in NPower League Two, one place above the relegation places. Wycombe’s
solitary away league win this season came against York City (3-1) with the remaining
four games all ending in defeat. On paper with the clubs away record this
season, a caretaker manager in charge and being a league below Pompey, the
games result shouldn’t really be in doubt but as always cup games always throw
up the chance of a potential banana skin in what will be the first ever
competitive game between the two teams.
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