On the album titled: Play Up Pompey: The Songs Of Portsmouth FC there is a track called Don't Jump Jimmy Ware by The Blues. Does anyone know the story behind the song, the year and most importantly who was (or is) Jimmy Ware?
Unfortunately, I don't have this album so don't know if there's more information on the sleeve notes. Perhaps you do? If so let me know.
Why am I asking? A friend recently told me a story where her young daughter was walking along a small wall and whenever a gap appeared she had to jump across and my friend would say: 'Don't jump Jimmy Ware!'. It was all part of the game. She says it's a saying she picked up when she lived in Portsmouth many years ago, something she once saw on a car bumper sticker - and it's stuck with her ever since!
She knew nothing of the history behind the song so I decided to try and find out. I can't find anything on Google, so I decided to download it from iTunes to see if it gave any clues.The lyrics go like this:
Verse One
Look out Jimmy Ware, if Pompey don't go up
You said you'll jump right off the pier
You can hold on good and tight to Peter Mellor's hand
'Cos he'll wanna join you...can't get this bit
Chorus
Don't jump Jimmy Ware
Pompey's on the road to victory
They're going up
So fill up the cup
And don't jump Jimmy, we'll push you!
Verse Two
What a great big mouth
You've gone too far this time
You think you'll never have to jump
So prove your loyalty to Portsmouth Football Club
And simply shut-up when they go up
Final Chorus
Don't jump Jimmy Ware
Pompey's on the road to victory
They're going up
So fill up the cup
And don't jump Jimmy, we'll push you!
Don't jump Jimmy Ware
Pompey's on the road to victory
They're going up
So fill up the cup
And don't jump Jimmy, we'll push you!
Don't jump Jimmy Ware
Pompey's on the road to victory
They're going up
So fill up the cup
And don't jump Jimmy, we'll push you!
Don't jump Jimmy!
Don't Jump Jimmy!
We'll push you!
@PompeyChicken at Twitter.com
Post Script
Our North West Pompey correspondent @Davesargent at Twitter.com has come up trumps! Jimmy Ware was the co-commentator on Radio Victory for matches during Pompey's Division 4 promotion season. Jimmy apparently said on air that if Pompey didn't get promoted then he would jump off Clarence Pier! Although Dave thinks he jumped off the pier anyway, in jubilation!
The Division Four promotion season was 1979-80.
@Blu33arthling at Twitter.com commented that he attended his first ever match in that season at the last game against Northampton Town. A game remembered with much fondness by Pompey fans as around 8,000 fans travelled to support the team and welcomed them with a tickertape reception. Pompey won 2-0 and with other results on the day going their way promotion was confirmed, on goal difference.
3rd May 1980, Northampton Town 0-2 Portsmouth (Davey and Purdie). Att: 10,774
Portsmouth team: Mellor, McLaughlin, Bryant, Brisley, Ellis, Davey, Hemmerman, Laidlaw, Perrin, Brown, Purdie.
Source: Portsmouth From Tindall To Ball A Complete Record by Colin Farmery
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Monday 21 March 2011
19/03/2011 Leicester City 0-1 Portsmouth: Pompey secure a double as Foxes miss a beat
A first half goal from David Nugent, his eleventh of the season, was enough to secure three Championship points in this encounter at The Walkers Stadium.
This was the second League victory over Leicester City this season for Pompey giving them their first 'double'. Pompey beat The Foxes 6-1 at Fratton Park on the 24th September.
Pompey made one change to their starting line-up from the previous game against Middlebrough, Liam Lawrence replacing Joel Ward.
Lawrence took over the armband from Dave Kitson. Pompey's club captain Aaron Mokoena wasn't on the bench, reasons unknown at time of writing.
Leicester City had former Pompey player Yakubu Aiyegbeni, on loan from Everton, in their starting line-up.
Piece of Trivia: on the drive up the M1 I was overtaken by a car with the number plate X5 YAK.
There was a well observed minute's silence before the game for those who had lost their lives in the tragedies which had unfolded in Japan over the last week or so following the earthquake and Tsunami. Leicester had Yuki Abe the Japanese international midfielder in their team.
The Leicester City faithful have a well proportioned drummer strategically positioned at the top of one of the stands who sends out regular beats on his drum to rouse the fans into action. He did a stirling job although the home fans did occasionally miss the beat and got frustrated with their team as they failed to put away a string of good chances.
The drummer got a nice round of applause at the start of the match from the Pompey fans as he donned his big floppy hat and proudly showed off his tattoed torso. Unfortunately, as the game progressed he also get plenty of unnecessary abuse as well, which was uncalled for and a shame. I suspect he's used to it but it doesn't make it right. As the home team's chances of securing a draw faded so did the drumbeat.
The game opened brightly as the Spring sunshine bathed most of the ground with both teams having chances on goal. Hermann Hreidarsson was in the thick of the action heading a Greg Halford free-kick at goal which was saved by Ricardo and then clearing the ball away from the danger area at the other end within the space of a few minutes.
The only goal of the game came in the 13th minute and followed a Greg Halford throw in to the penalty box.
The home defence failed to clear the ball far enough away from the danger area and it fell to David Nugent to calmly side foot the ball, on the volley, in to the middle of the goal.
The pitch at The Walkers Stadium has plenty of room for a run up to the touchline before taking a throw which gave Halford's efforts far more momentum than seen at Fratton Park for example with its narrow pitchside track. Throughout the afternoon Halford was launching powerful, long, flat, throw-ins a la Rory Delap at Stoke City and the home team often struggled to deal with them. It was a deliberate ploy, perhaps to unsettle Leicester's goalkeeper Ricardo.
Pompey thrust forward again shortly after scoring through some good work between goalscorer Nugent and Hayden Mullins down the right hand side. On this occasion the move was dealt with by the Foxes' defence.
It was a lively opening quarter of the game and Jamie Ashdown was called in to action to make the first of three excellent saves during the game just after the quarter-hour saving a close range header from Sol Bamba, deflecting it over the cross bar.
The home team had a number of good free-kick opportunities throughout the game, including some during the first half, as they put the Pompey defence under pressure and fouls were conceded. However, they were unable to make any of the chances pay.
The Leicester forward line looked lively on occasions, Gallagher and Yakubu both having good opportunities. However, Pompey's defence kept the Foxes at bay continuing to demonstrate their resilient best that had been demonstrated during recent matches – Bristol City aside. Rocha and Halford in particular looked solid.
In the middle of the field Mullins and Jonathan Hogg found themselves in a bit of a battle and Hogg was booked for a poor challenge on a Leicester player just before the break taking that fiery edge away from his game for the remainder of the match as he avoided a second yellow.
David Nugent was also booked as Hayden Mullins went down injured on the bi-line and rolled off the pitch, Ashdown kicked the ball out of play so he could get some treatment and Nugent appeared to be booked for arguing with the ref about how the throw-in should be handled. As it was the Leicester team threw the ball back straight back to Ashdown, to a chorus of boos from the home fans which continued as Mullins re-joined play.
HT Leicester City 0-1 Portsmouth
Pompey had two clear-cut chances in the second half, both in the last 12 minutes.
The first fell to Dave Kitson on 78 minutes after some really good work by Ritchie de Laet down the right hand side. He used his pace to get in to a good position before crossing the ball to the far post where Kitson got in the header but saw his effort fly wide of the upright.
The second chance fell to Joel Ward in the 82nd minute who had come on as a substitute to replace David Cotterill, allowing Liam Lawrence to play on the right. There was some good build-up play in the lead up to Ward's chance, Pompey's most fluent of the half. Unfortunately, with the goal gaping Ward mis hit his shot and saw it go wide of the target when it looked easier to score. The Pompey fans had monetarily celebrated the 'goal' before realising the ball hadn't hit the net. It was a real “Yes! Goal! Nooooo!” moment.
Leicester had more opportunities in the second half but a combination of poor finishing, good defensive play, good goalkeeping and a bit of luck meant they were unable to get back on level terms.
Jamie Ashdown made two more good saves after the break.
The first from Gallagher, after the Leicester forward found himself one-on-one with the Pompey 'keeper. Ashdown remained on his feet and made himself big to thwart the attempt which came about after a midded header by Halford, one of the few errors by Pompey in the game.
The second came from a Kyle Naughton rasping drive down the right which Ashdown was able to beat away for a corner and safety.
With the ball being driven across the face of goal and free-kicks going very close Leicester will look back on this match as an opportunity lost. It was one of those days for Sven's men.
For Pompey they'll see this as another job well done. Another clean sheet, that's eight out of the last nine matches, and three more valuable points sees Pompey move on to 54 points, 6 points off the play off positions and 19 points above the drop zone. With 8 games remaining it's a healthy state of affairs.
The players and Steve Cotterill all came over to the travelling Pompey fans at the end of the game to thank them for their excellent support.
It's not over until the fat lady sings or perhaps until the fat man drums: Leicester City with one point more have as good a chance as Pompey to squeeze in to the play-offs but they'll need to be more clinical in front of goal.
FT Leicester City 0-1 Portsmouth
Portsmouth versus Leicester City: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie de Laet, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Hermann Hreidarsson, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, David Cotterill, Liam Lawrence, David Nugent and Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Carl Dickinson, Tom Kilbey, Joel Ward, Nadir Ciftci and Kanu
MOTM: A tricky one as there are a number of good candidates. David Nugent worked tirelessly throughout the game before being substituted in the second half and replaced by Carl Dickinson. Dave Kitson had a pretty effective game up front, he played more central than in previous games. Jamie Ashdown made a number of good saves during the second half especially to ensure Pompey's lead was maintained. Both Ricardo Rocha and Greg Halford had good games at the back to stifle Gallagher, Yakubu and Vassell. If push comes to shove I'll go for Greg Halford.
Attendance: 26,645 (including 1,001 Pompey fans in good voice as usual).
Next up for Pompey: Reading away on Saturday April 2nd, kick-off 3PM. This will prove an interesting encounter between the two teams in 3rd (Reading) and 4th (Pompey) places of the current form table.
BlueThruAndThru
Sunday 20 March 2011
19/03/2011 Leicester City 0-1 Portsmouth: Walkers Stadium Pictures
Here are some of the pictures I took before the Championship game between Leicester City and Portsmouth at The Walkers Stadium - my first visit to this ground.
The sign over the main entrance.
There are a lot of images of former players as well as supporters around the ground.
The view of the away supporters' entrances.
The fans walls of bricks can be found at this end of the Stadium.
The view back down towards the entrances for the away supporters.
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There are a lot of images of former players as well as supporters around the ground.
The view of the away supporters' entrances.
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Who's that peering from the undergrowth?
Pompey beat Leicester City 1-0 with a first half goal from David Nugent.
It reminded me of the black cat that is included in the exhibition titled: Football in the City: A space in the heart of Portsmouth at Portsmouth Museum that's been running for some time.
See here: http://www.portsmouthmuseums.co.uk/exhibition.htm
@PompeyChicken at Twitter.com
Monday 14 March 2011
12/03/2011 Portsmouth 0- 0 Middlesbrough: are you Paul Hart in disguise?
Another point and another clean sheet for Pompey but it could have been so much more. Tony Mowbray and his young Boro charges will have been much happier with this result than Steve Cotterill and his team.
Cotterill named an unchanged starting line-up for the third match in a row. One positive piece of team news was the return to the bench of Liam Lawrence who had missed recent games with a niggly calf injury. The bench had a full complement of seven.
Pompey should have secured victory in this match during the first half, the fact that they didn't was down to two key factors. Firstly, their inability to put away clearcut chances. Secondly, the reluctance, rightly or wrongly, of the match officials to make 'positive decisions'.
The two best chances of the game fell to Pompey in the first half hour of the match.
The first was created by Jonathan Hogg from the left hand side after he chased down a loose ball following a corner. He nutmegged the Boro defender who'd tracked him, and sent in a perfect cross for Hermann Hreidarsson to unleash a powerful header. The ball rattled the cross-bar but unfortunately for Pompey nobody was able to follow it up.
The second was created by David Nugent a few minutes later who received a pass from Hogg and passed the ball to Dave Kitson. Kitson's shot was powerfully struck but it was too central and the Boro defender - Luke Williams - positioned on the goal line was able to keep it out. If the shot had been placed either side of him it would have been a goal.
Such is football. If both or one of those two chances had hit the back of the net it would have been a very different story, of course.
As it was they were the two main Pompey action highlights of the game. The only other shot on goal of any note came deep in to the second half from substitute Liam Lawrence, from distance which was easily saved by the Boro 'keeper.
Pompey had two shouts for penalty kicks in the first half, neither of which was given. The first was a potential handball - the ball hitting Williams on the hand from a Joel Ward shot. The second when a Boro defender - Seb Hines - hauled Nugent back with a strong arm on the left shoulder.
To be fair to the officials the first would have been a harsh decision and the second may have been just outside of the penalty box. But on another day...
All in all it was a frustrating afternoon for Pompey and their fans in a good sized Fratton Park crowd bolstered by a good turnout from the North East.
Tony Mowbray brought his team to Fratton Park with a defensive approach and it worked a treat. It wasn't pretty to watch but it was effective and it got a result. If the tables had been turned Pompey fans would have been applauding the performance. It was Paul Hartesque in nature and as Pompey fans well know there's nothing wrong with that when your back is against the wall.
Following this result Pompey dropped in to the lower half of the Championship table. They are in 13th position on 51 points closer to the Play-Off places than the Relegation Zone but probably permanently suspended in mid-table anonymity now for the remainder of the season. Perhaps an opportunity to give Tom Kilby and Nadir Ciftci some game time? Maybe not immediately but something for Cotterill to consider as he looks to freshen up the team in the final few games. Time will tell.
FT Portsmouth 0-0 Middlesbrough
Attendance: 16,447
MOTM: Ricardo Rocha received the official award and there can be no argument about that. It was another solid defensive display by the Portugeuse player who always seems to have a little bit more time on the ball than other defenders. His timing of headers and tackles is a joy to watch at times.
Portsmouth versus Middlebrough: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie De Laet, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Hermann Hreidarsson, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, David Cotterill, Joel Ward, David Nugent, Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Aaron Mokoena, Carl Dickinson, Kanu, Liam Lawrence, Tom Kilbey, Nadir Ciftci
Next up: Pompey's next match is on Saturday March 19th at 3PM versus Leicester City (A).
BlueThruAndThru
Friday 11 March 2011
Portsmouth Football Programme and Memorabilia Fair At Fratton Park Sunday 13th March 2011
I saw this poster at Fratton Park last Saturday advertising this weekend's Football Programme and Memorabilia Fair.
I've been to these events before and they're very good if you're interested in old football programmes, books, magazines and other collectibles.
So, why not pop down to Fratton Park this Sunday to have a look for yourself?
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08/03/2011 Bristol City 2-1 Portsmouth: Lights go out on Pompey's good fortune
Pompey's unbeaten run of six matches came to an end at Ashton Gate against Bristol City. Defeat also saw the end of Pompey's run of clean sheets although not before Jamie Ashdown was able to break a post-war Pompey league record for not conceding held by Peter Mellor.
Prior to the match the area around Ashton Gate had suffered a power-cut and on arrival much of the area was in darkness including the ground itself. Fortunately, power was restored to ensure play went ahead.
Football can be a cruel and ironic game at times as Pompey played some of the best football seen by their fans for quite some time and yet ended up losing. They haven't always played well during the six game unbeaten streak but seemed to be able to grind out the wins.
Pompey went in to the game unchanged from the team that narrowly beat Sheffield United 1-0 the previous Saturday.
The Ashton Park pitch is on a slope, not disimilar to the Havant & Waterlooville ground; the away fans are located at the bottom of the slope. The pitch was in excellent condition, ideal for good, slick, passing football.
There was a clear contrast in styles between the two teams in the first half.
Pompey were willing to get the ball down and pass it through their midfield - Jonathan Hogg in particular looked lively - and out to the flanks, Cotterill, Nuigent, De Laet all looked lively.
Bristol on the other hand looked strong on the break, playing effective, counter attacking football.
The home team employed the multi-ball system to help them in their endeavours but has there ever been a tactic less likely to maintain the flow of the game than this especially when it's poorly executed? Play was often interrupted with two balls on the field of play, it's a nightmare.
Despite two or three good long range opportunities for the home team to shoot on goal during the first 40 minutes - all shots going over the bar - Pompey looked solid at the back.
Unfortunately, Pompey's downfall came following the breakdown of a move where Ricard Rocha had edged forward in to the Bristol half to win a lose ball, won it but then lost it again almost immediately, was out of position and the heart of Pompey's defence was exposed. Bristol were able to take advantage and Albert Adomah found himself one-on-one with Jamie Ashdown from where he shot over and past the advancing 'keeper to give the home team the lead.
It was harsh luck on Pompey who had most of the first half possession and looked the more accomplished team. Fitball, eh? Bloody 'ell.
A few minutes later Pompey had a great opportunity to immediately strike back but although David Nugent was able to find Joel Ward the Emsworth youngster headed over when it looked easier to hit the target.
HT Bristol City 1-0 Portsmouth
Pompey were attacking towards their own fans in the second half and before the restart former Pompey favourite David James got a good reception on taking up his position in goal.
Both Joel Ward and Ritchie de Laet had opportunities to level matters during the early exchanges but Ward's effort went over the bar from a tight angle and de Laet's shot was well blocked.
Unfortunately, despite having much of the possession Pompey found themselves two down, the goal again coming from a breakaway move, Greg Halford diverted Nicky Maynard's cross from the right in to his own net.
Pompey continued to press although with less fluidity to their play compared to the first half and Dave Kitson had a number of good chances but was unable to take any of them. Kitson often played wide of centre during this match and although he linked up play well as a striker it would have been better to see him in the box causing a bit more trouble in the penalty box and leave the crossing to Cotterill, De Laet and Nugent.
With time running out and Pompey looking likely to draw a blank, Steve Cotterill sent on Kanu for a shorter than normal cameo appearance.
The King - in less than 5 minutes - was able to cause problems for the Bristol defence and it would have been interesting to see him join the play earlier. Maybe he was being saved for Saturday's match.
As it was, following some good play by Kanu where he weaved his way in to the penalty box, Pompey drew a goal back in added time, Kitson eventually getting on to the scoresheet deflecting a Carl Dickinson shot in to the goal past James. Despite a final flurry of activity where Pompey again had the ball in the danger area they were unable to get the last-gasp equaliser that they overall play had warranted.
Overall, Pompey's play in this game warranted a better result. They played some good, possession, passing football, especially during the first half, making the most of the playing conditions at Ashton Gate.
Bristol City looked quick on the break and did stretch Pompey down the flanks, especially the right hand side.
On another night Pompey would have been awarded a penalty kick for handball - they had two or three really good looking claims all of which were denied by referee Mr Hooper. There was a hint of offside in the build up for Bristol's second goal.
So, disappointed - yes. Downhearted - defintely not. A win on Saturday against a Middlesbrough team that has struggled all season will get Pompey back on track for a top 10 Championship finish the minimum they should be striving for after building-up such good momentum over the last six games.
FT Bristol City 2-1 Portsmouth
Portsmouth versus Bristol City: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie de Laet, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Hermann Hreidarsson, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, David Cotterill, Joel Ward, David Nugent, Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Aaron Mokoena, Carl Dickinson, Tom Kilbey and Kanu
Attendance: 13,886 including over 1,200 Pompey fans who made great noise throughout most of the match, Ashton Gate is conducive the that with it's covered away end.
MOTM: Joel Ward and Jonathan Hogg both played well in this match, I'd give it to Hogg.
Next up: Middlesbrough at Fratton Park on 12/03/2011 at 3PM
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Wednesday 9 March 2011
Six in a row
Six Pompey footballs in a row: one for each win in the Club's six game winning streak which came to an end against Bristol City (A) on 9th March, 1-2. The six wins were:
Doncaster Rovers (A) 2-0 (Kitson, Ward)
Barnsley (H) 1-0 (Kanu)
Crystal Palace (H) 1-0 (Nugent)
Ipswich Town (A) 2-0 (Nugent, Cotterill)
Scunthorpe United (H) 2-0 (Kitson, Mokoena)
Sheffield United (H) 1-0 (Hreidarsson)
Each win of course came with a clean sheet but I couldn't find six of those!
Pompey didn't concede a goal for 636 minutes, goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown beating a post-war League record held by Peter Mellor.
Somebody had actually lined up nine footballs in a row but I guess I was being a bit too optimistic thinking I'd ever get to use that! A bit of clever digital trimming was required.
Pompey's run of minutes without conceding was ended by Bristol City's Albert Adomah. The previous player to score against Pompey was Derby County's Steve Davies on 5th February in the 1-1 draw at Fratton Park. They were both pretty good goals and that's what it takes these days - own goals aside - to get past Pompey's defence.
The defeat against Bristol City brought Pompey back down to earth. They have an opportunity to get back to winning ways and clean sheets on Saturday 12th March against 20th placed Middlesbrough at Fratton Park, 3PM kick-off.
BluThruAndThru
Sunday 6 March 2011
05/03/2011 Portsmouth 1-0 Sheffield United: the joy of six
A first half Hermann Hreidarsson goal was enough to secure Pompey victory in this Championship encounter against Sheffield United.
It was top versus bottom of the current performance table, based on results over the last six matches.
It was Pompey's sixth consecutive win and their sixth consecutive clean sheet.
It is The Beautiful Game: Pompey Style. It isn't great to watch - indeed one fan on Twitter (@Bileysmullet) described it as 'David Mellor ugly'! But it is effective and that is all that matters for now. It's substance over style.
The victory takes Pompey up one more place in the table to 11th position on 50 points with a Goal Difference of plus 2.
This excellent run of form has all but banished thoughts of relegation. Now thoughts turn to getting as far up the table as possible in the remaining 11 games of the season.
Pompey still have six games to play against teams in the top 10 of The Championship: Swansea City (h), Cardiff City (a), Norwich City (h), Burnley (a), Leicster City (a) and Reading (a).
The home:away ratio of these six games doesn't look great on paper (2:4). On the one hand, playing away from Fratton Park might not be a bad thing as the home fans have become 'excitedly edgy' in recent games. They know what's at stake. On the other, as everyone knows Fratton Park can be a fortress when it's full, rocking and Pompey are playing well.
The outcomes of these six games will have a huge bearing on where Pompey ultimately end up in the table.
Sheffield United's pre-match warm-up routine included two small games, whistle and all, note the number of coaches involved as well (in red tops)
Pompey made one change from thier mid-week victory over Scunthorpe United, Joel Ward returning to the starting line-up with Kanu dropping to the bench.
Ward had recovered from the calf injury that had kept him out of that game. Unfortunately, the prognosis for Liam Lawrence is not so good and he's expected to be out for a couple more weeks. During the first half it looked likely that Hayden Mullins would have to be withdrawn for the second game in a row, he was limping heavily for much of first period. However, he came out for the second half and played the full 90 minutes - the 'magic sponge' did the trick.
Pompey were straight in to the action and David Nugent got himself into a good scoring position only to be well tackled by a Blades' defender.
As the game settled down there were few clearcut opportunities for either side, a combination of good defending and players unable to get into clear scoring positions. For Pompey, Ward made one good cross in to the box, following a move down the right hand flank, but no Pompey player was able to get on to the end of it. Nugent found himself in a goal scoring position only to see his deliberate shot saved by Simonsen in the Blades' goal.
The breakthrough for Pompey came on 24 minutes. Sheffield United were unable to clear the ball from a corner which found its way to Hreidarsson who blasted it in to the net. His goal celebration was typically eccentric.
The visitors had the bestof the possession following the goal with a couple of good chances spurned. Ashdown in particular had to make one good save from Blades striker Richard Cresswell.
For a team that had kept five previous clean sheets elements of Pompey's defence didn't always appear to be on the same wavelength, Greg Halford and Jamie Ashdown in particular were not always as positive as they could have been leading to some confusion and opportunity for Sheffield to exploit. Thankfully they weren't able to do so.
Just before the break there was another moment of excitement involving The Ice Man. Skipper Kitson charged down the left had side of the pitch and on looking up for support in the box to aim his cross at, who should be there but the oldest outfield player on the pitch who dramatically threw himself into a running, diving header from the edge of the penalty box only to see the ball fly well wide of the goal untroubling the 'keeper. It raised the spirirts of the crowd though and sent a few messages to some of the younger members of the Pompey team!
There was one last Pompey chance - a volley from Kitson from the edge of the penalty box, which was easily saved by Simonsen in goal.
HT: Portsmouth 1-0 Sheffield United
After the break Pompey had a good early chance, Kitson's shot was spilled by Simonsen but Nugent could only slam his shot in to the side netting of the goal in front of The Fratton End. He should have hit the target.
The game descended into long periods of stalemate where the visitors had by far the better of possession but were unable to transalte it in to any decent attempts on goal, Ashdown pretty much untroubled apart from one save late on where the ball fell from a header straight to him.
One time Pompey target Nyron Nosworthy took a lot of throw-ins in an attempt to get the ball in to the danger area, fortunately he can't throw the ball in very well, looking a bit ungainly with each attempt. He's no Rory Delap...or Greg Halford for that matter.
Hogg and Mullins were working very hard in the midfield and it wasn't a surprise when Steve Cotterill decided to bring on the fresh legs and experience of Aaron Mokoena in place of Hogg in the second half. Later he also withdrew David Cotterill, who had worked hard down the right hand side, and replaced him with the all out effort and energy that is Carl Dickinson.
The Blades' best chance of the match fell to their best player on the day - Stephen Quinn - who managed to find himself clear of the defence in the penalty box only to drill his shot from the right hand side wide of the far post for a goal kick. He should have got it on target.
Pompey's only other real chance fell to Nugent who ran down on goal from the left had side after substitute Kanu, with his very first flick of the game, send him clear. It was an audatious touch from the Nigerian but Nugent's shot was svaed by Simonsen.
Despite Micky Adams sending on more strikers - including the well travelled Marcus Bent who has caused Pompey plenty of trouble in the past - Pompey were able to see the game out and secure victory.
Captains, mascots, officials and a the Marie Cure nurse line up for a photograph
Match action - spot the ball I
Match action - spot the ball II
The Pompey team celebrate with Hermann after he scored his match winning goal
Official MOTM Hermann Hreidarsson comes off at the end of the game accompanied by Carl Dickinson
Jamie Ashdown at the end of the match pondering on his sixth consecutive clean sheet
FT: Portsmouth 1-0 Sheffield United
MOTM: the official MOTM award went to Hermann Hreidarsson and was well deserved, he scored a goal and showed boundless energy, especially in the first half. Once again Ricardo Rocha received plenty of plaudits from the Pompey fans, he also had another excellent game at the back and has been at the heart of Pompey's new found defensive resillience.
Portsmouth versus Sheffield United: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie de Laet, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Hermann Hreidarsson, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, David Cotterill, Joel Ward, David Nugent and Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Aaron Mokoena, Kanu, Tom Kilbe and Nadir Ciftci
Attendance: 15,096, a good number of fans travelled down from Yorkshire. One humerous moment in the first half occured when they went one-nil down. The away fans started singing: "Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, we're going to Shrewsbury, que, sera, sera."
Next up:Bristol City away on Tuesday March 8th at 7:45PM
BluThruAndThru
It was top versus bottom of the current performance table, based on results over the last six matches.
It was Pompey's sixth consecutive win and their sixth consecutive clean sheet.
It is The Beautiful Game: Pompey Style. It isn't great to watch - indeed one fan on Twitter (@Bileysmullet) described it as 'David Mellor ugly'! But it is effective and that is all that matters for now. It's substance over style.
The victory takes Pompey up one more place in the table to 11th position on 50 points with a Goal Difference of plus 2.
This excellent run of form has all but banished thoughts of relegation. Now thoughts turn to getting as far up the table as possible in the remaining 11 games of the season.
Pompey still have six games to play against teams in the top 10 of The Championship: Swansea City (h), Cardiff City (a), Norwich City (h), Burnley (a), Leicster City (a) and Reading (a).
The home:away ratio of these six games doesn't look great on paper (2:4). On the one hand, playing away from Fratton Park might not be a bad thing as the home fans have become 'excitedly edgy' in recent games. They know what's at stake. On the other, as everyone knows Fratton Park can be a fortress when it's full, rocking and Pompey are playing well.
The outcomes of these six games will have a huge bearing on where Pompey ultimately end up in the table.
Pompey made one change from thier mid-week victory over Scunthorpe United, Joel Ward returning to the starting line-up with Kanu dropping to the bench.
Ward had recovered from the calf injury that had kept him out of that game. Unfortunately, the prognosis for Liam Lawrence is not so good and he's expected to be out for a couple more weeks. During the first half it looked likely that Hayden Mullins would have to be withdrawn for the second game in a row, he was limping heavily for much of first period. However, he came out for the second half and played the full 90 minutes - the 'magic sponge' did the trick.
Pompey were straight in to the action and David Nugent got himself into a good scoring position only to be well tackled by a Blades' defender.
As the game settled down there were few clearcut opportunities for either side, a combination of good defending and players unable to get into clear scoring positions. For Pompey, Ward made one good cross in to the box, following a move down the right hand flank, but no Pompey player was able to get on to the end of it. Nugent found himself in a goal scoring position only to see his deliberate shot saved by Simonsen in the Blades' goal.
The breakthrough for Pompey came on 24 minutes. Sheffield United were unable to clear the ball from a corner which found its way to Hreidarsson who blasted it in to the net. His goal celebration was typically eccentric.
The visitors had the bestof the possession following the goal with a couple of good chances spurned. Ashdown in particular had to make one good save from Blades striker Richard Cresswell.
For a team that had kept five previous clean sheets elements of Pompey's defence didn't always appear to be on the same wavelength, Greg Halford and Jamie Ashdown in particular were not always as positive as they could have been leading to some confusion and opportunity for Sheffield to exploit. Thankfully they weren't able to do so.
Just before the break there was another moment of excitement involving The Ice Man. Skipper Kitson charged down the left had side of the pitch and on looking up for support in the box to aim his cross at, who should be there but the oldest outfield player on the pitch who dramatically threw himself into a running, diving header from the edge of the penalty box only to see the ball fly well wide of the goal untroubling the 'keeper. It raised the spirirts of the crowd though and sent a few messages to some of the younger members of the Pompey team!
There was one last Pompey chance - a volley from Kitson from the edge of the penalty box, which was easily saved by Simonsen in goal.
HT: Portsmouth 1-0 Sheffield United
After the break Pompey had a good early chance, Kitson's shot was spilled by Simonsen but Nugent could only slam his shot in to the side netting of the goal in front of The Fratton End. He should have hit the target.
The game descended into long periods of stalemate where the visitors had by far the better of possession but were unable to transalte it in to any decent attempts on goal, Ashdown pretty much untroubled apart from one save late on where the ball fell from a header straight to him.
One time Pompey target Nyron Nosworthy took a lot of throw-ins in an attempt to get the ball in to the danger area, fortunately he can't throw the ball in very well, looking a bit ungainly with each attempt. He's no Rory Delap...or Greg Halford for that matter.
Hogg and Mullins were working very hard in the midfield and it wasn't a surprise when Steve Cotterill decided to bring on the fresh legs and experience of Aaron Mokoena in place of Hogg in the second half. Later he also withdrew David Cotterill, who had worked hard down the right hand side, and replaced him with the all out effort and energy that is Carl Dickinson.
The Blades' best chance of the match fell to their best player on the day - Stephen Quinn - who managed to find himself clear of the defence in the penalty box only to drill his shot from the right hand side wide of the far post for a goal kick. He should have got it on target.
Pompey's only other real chance fell to Nugent who ran down on goal from the left had side after substitute Kanu, with his very first flick of the game, send him clear. It was an audatious touch from the Nigerian but Nugent's shot was svaed by Simonsen.
Despite Micky Adams sending on more strikers - including the well travelled Marcus Bent who has caused Pompey plenty of trouble in the past - Pompey were able to see the game out and secure victory.
FT: Portsmouth 1-0 Sheffield United
MOTM: the official MOTM award went to Hermann Hreidarsson and was well deserved, he scored a goal and showed boundless energy, especially in the first half. Once again Ricardo Rocha received plenty of plaudits from the Pompey fans, he also had another excellent game at the back and has been at the heart of Pompey's new found defensive resillience.
Portsmouth versus Sheffield United: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie de Laet, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Hermann Hreidarsson, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, David Cotterill, Joel Ward, David Nugent and Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Aaron Mokoena, Kanu, Tom Kilbe and Nadir Ciftci
Attendance: 15,096, a good number of fans travelled down from Yorkshire. One humerous moment in the first half occured when they went one-nil down. The away fans started singing: "Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, we're going to Shrewsbury, que, sera, sera."
Next up:Bristol City away on Tuesday March 8th at 7:45PM
BluThruAndThru
01/03/2011 Portsmouth 2-0 Scunthorpe United: bobble, bobble, skippers' double
Second half goals from two Pompey skippers, in this Championship encounter against Scunthorpe United at Fratton Park, gave Pompey their fifth consecutive win.
Both of the Pompey goals, scored by match skipper Dave Kitson and Club captain Aaron Mokoena, were struck powerfully from outside of the penalty box although the South African's shot took a deflection.
As well as a fifth consecutive win this was Pompey's fifth consecutive clean sheet.
The victory sees Pompey move up in to 12th position in the table on 47 points, seven points off the play off positions.
Pompey were forced to make one change from the team that beat Ipswich Town, Joel Ward picked up a knock in that game and so Kanu came in to the starting line-up.
Conditions at Fratton Park were difficult with a strong easterly wind blowing across the ground and a pitch which was bobbly making passing and control of the ball difficult much to the frustration of many Pompey fans.
Indeed the pitch conditions were deemed so bad that the groundsman performed some impromptu watering of the surface at half time. The poor chap was absolutely soaking after walking up-and-down the middle of the pitch pointing a large metal sprinkler on the end of an oversized yellow hose pipe. But it did the trick as conditions improved in the second half.
First half highlights included a David Nugent shot from outside of the penalty box in the opening minutes which was well saved by Josh Lillis and a 'goal' for the visitors from Graham Miller that was chalked off for an infringement that only the officials saw. It was a lucky break for Pompey.
Much of Pompey's good work was coming through Nugent either directly or by setting up colleagues. Pompey's two other good chances in the first half fell to Hreidarsson who headed a Greg Halford throw-in wide of goal and Kanu who was unable to get on the end of a Kitson header that he directed across the face of goal when perhaps he would have been better aiming his effort at goal instead.
Pompey were forced to make a change during the first half, midfielder Hayden Mullins taking a knock on his calf and being withdrawn and replaced by Mokoena.
Mullins has been an ever present this season for Pompey, the only outfielder to do so, and losing his presence could have been a big blow.
However, Mokoena, who often insists that midfield is his best position rather than centre back where he has played most of his games for Pompey, slotted in very well alongside Jonathan Hogg.
The disallowed 'goal' aside the visitors didn't trouble Jamie Ashdown directly in the first half, their only other effort of note a header that went wide of the mark from Michael Collins.
HT: Portsmouth 0-0 Scunthorpe United
With the playing surface having a little bit more zip to it following its half-time soaking Pompey set out to exploit the flanks a bit more, especially the right hand side.
With the visitors playing five across the midfield stretching the game in this way looked to be a good ploy. Cotterill and de Laet combined well on a number of occasions down that flank and always looked threatening, a number of crosses making their way in to the box.
The two Pompey goals both came from well struck shots.
The first came just after the hour mark. Kitson collected the ball outside of the box and cleverly made his way to the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a powerful right footed drive that nestled into the corner of the net past the dive of Lillis. Kitson's footwork in the move way very clever tip-tapping the ball from foot to foot.
Kanu was pivotal in the build-up to Mokoena's goal which came ten minutes from time. He collected the ball on the right hand side of the penalty area, held it up before passing off to the South African who unleashed a powerful shot that took a wicked deflection to take it in to the net. Lucky? Yes. But you make your own luck in football and the goal topped off a good performance by Mokoena.
Steve Cotterill made a couple of late substitutions to use up some time – Dickinson coming on for Nugent and Ciftci for Cotterill. Both players had worked hard during the game.
FT Portsmouth 2-0 Scunthorpe United
Overall, this was another game where Pompey dug in and got the job done. It wasn't a great game but it was brought to life by two goals that Pompey just about deserved. It's a familiar story in recent games and one no Pompey fan will be complaining about as the run of wins has taken Pompey up the table and into a position of relative safety; indeed, looking up more than down.
Just having that extra bit of quality told at the end of the day and Pompey had a little bit more than their visitors when it really mattered.
The Irons were unlucky not to have broken Pompey's stretch of clean sheets with a 'goal' disallowed and one or two other good chances spurned. However, if truth be told Jamie Ashdown will have busier matches.
Pompey have twelve games left, six at home and six away. It's going to be a fascinating end to the season if the momentum can be maintained and who's to say it can't be? A play off position could go down to the final game of the season against...Scunthorpe United. A game both teams could have a lot riding on.
Portsmouth versus Scunthorpe United: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie de Laet, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Hermann Hreidarsson, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, David Cotterill, Kanu, David Nugent and Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Carl Dickinson, Aaron Mokoena, Liam Lawrence and Tom Kilbey
Attendance: 14,252, special mention to the 100 or so away fans who had made the 250 plus mile trip down, a good turnout for a midweek fixture.
Pompey MOTM: the offical award went to Jonathan Hogg but I would have given it to Aaron Mokoena.
Next up: Sheffield United at Fratton Park 5th March at 3PM
BlueThruAndThru
Thursday 3 March 2011
26/02/2011 Ipswich Town 0-2 Portsmouth: Suffolk 'n lucky! Pompey pick up another win!
Unable to travel to this game, PompeyChicken spent the afternoon at home listening to BBC Radio Solent's commentary from Portman Road with Lawrence Herdman and former Pompey Alan McLoughlin, soon to be inducted into the Pompey Hall of Fame, something he described as “an absolute honour” at the start of commentary when Herdman mentioned it.
Here are some notes from the afternoon's commentary.
There was a pre-match interview with Pompey manager Steve Cotterill who said he enjoys going to Portman Road and was looking forward to it, he expected it to be a tough game. In Steve's view not much had changed in the way Ipswich had played under their former manager Roy Keane and the way they were playing under current manager Paul Jewell. Clubs have good runs (under Jewell) and bad runs (under Keane) he observed.
Herdman and McLoughlin reminded the listeners that Pompey had already won once in East Anglia this season (against Norwich City) and that the players were full of confidence and would be hoping to produce the same sort of performance as they did at Doncaster Rovers.
The Pompey team was unchanged from the previous game.
McLoughlin commented that Dave Kitson still had a lot to do to re-capture the form he showed during his days at Reading when he won promotion to the Premier League.
It was a damp Portman Road. Pompey were playing in their all black strip.
Former Ipswich player Hermann Hreidarsson got a good reception from the home fans.
Early on in the game Ipswich starlet, 17 year-old Connor Wickham, ran at Ritchie de Laet and McLoughlin commented that he saw that as an interesting match-up. On this occasion, de Laet 'put on the after burners' and was able to easily see off the threat. De Laet had started the game well.
Ipswich had started fractionally the better of the two teams.
On 5 minutes, David Cotterill and Ritchie de Laet overlapped and the ball was crossed in to the box but was safely gathered by Marton Fulop with Dave Kitson hovering.
On 6 minutes, Kitson flicked the ball on to Cotterill who crossed the ball but Joel Ward was unable to get on to the end of it.
On 7 minutes, Ipswich started to exert some pressure on Pompey and Jason Scotland fired in a shot that was well blocked by Hermann Hreidarsson.
On 9 minutes, Grant Leadbitter had a shot for Ipswich which hit Greg Halford. The shot came after good build up play involving Wickham, Lee Martin and David Norris.
On 10 minutes, Leadbitter was again in the action and his cross from the right hand side took a deflection off Halford for a corner which was taken short the ball eventually finding its way to Jimmy Bullard whose shot from distance came to nothing. McLoughlin described it as a “ridiculous shot”.
Ipswich were making the pitch big and creating lots of space through the midfield.
On 11 minutes, there was another Ipswich corner, taken by Bullard. Gareth Mcauley got in a header which hit Scotland in front of Pompey goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown. Mcauley hadn't been picked up at the corner by his marker David Nugent.
On 13 minutes, Hreidarsson lost the ball down the left flank giving Ipswich an opportunity for the ball to be crossed in to the box but it came to nothing.
On 15 minutes Pompey had a throw-in taken by Hreidarsson which found its way to Halford via Ricardo Rocha and Kitson but the move came to nothing and broke down. For Ipswich Leadbitter, Bullard and Martin were all regularly involved in the play and the home team were looking confident and had a good team shape, passing the ball around quickly.
On 17 minutes, the ball fell to Connor Wickham on the edge of the six yard area but Ashdown put his body on the line and flicked the shot up and over the cross bar for a corner kick. It was a good reaction save.
At this stage of the game McLoughlin's summary was that Pompey had no shape and were no real threat going forward. Ipswich were attacking and defending ' in numbers' according to Herdman.
On 20 minutes, Ricardo Rocha picked up what looked like a harsh booking for a foul on Norris.
On 21 minutes, Jason Scotland rose a la Paul Mariner in his pomp only to see the ball flash wide of the post from his header. McLoughlin commented that Pompey's defenders should have done better as Scotland wasn't the tallest of players.
He went on to say that Ipswich were creating plenty of chances and if that continued Pompey would eventually crack. Ipswich were moving the ball 'fantastically well' and had many options. Surprisingly Pompey were not working as a team but as individuals, their movement was inferior to their opponents. Pompey needed to hold a higher line, which would take some nerve, their backline was dropping off far too deep and there were big gaps opening up between the defenders, the midfield and the lone attacker.
The play had got a bit scrappy, with Jonathan Hogg losing the ball and Rocha mis-hitting a clearance up in to the air, all this as the pitch started to cut-up and the rain was lashing down much stronger than at the start of the game making play a bit tricky and benefiting Pompey a little as it hindered the flow of the home team's style.
On 28 minutes, Pompey won a corner, Damien Delaney putting the ball out of play, following David Cotterill's good run having been put through by Hayden Mullins. The corner came to nothing but Pompey appeared to have weathered the storm and their play was picking up.
On 29 minutes, de Laet broke through down the right flank and swapped a one-two with Cotterill but with a number of Pompey players waiting for the pass in the box the Belgian picked out nobody and the opportunity went begging. This was looking like an area that Pompey could exploit. They were beginning to grow in confidence and the on-loan Cotterill was starting to see a lot more of the ball. However, Pompey hadn't really tested Fulop in the Ipswich goal.
Carlos Edwards playing at right back was starting to get forward for the home team and got in a couple of useful looking crosses. Bullard, Leadbitter and Martin were continuing to see a lot of the ball and were passing it between themselves well.
On 35 minutes, a poor Halford free-kick aimed at Hreidarsson couldn't find its target.
On 36 minutes, a promising move between Kitson and Nugent broke down. The move started with a good Nugent turn but Kitson's pass back to his colleague was terrible. McLoughlin commented that Kitson either needed to hold the ball up for longer or make sure he finds the right pass.
On 38 minutes, Pompey had their first clear cut chance of the game and it fell to Kitson following a mistake by Leadbitter who should have cleared the ball away to safety. Kitson fired in a shot from the left hand side of the penalty area, with Delaney sliding across in front of him, but Fulop managed to save with his legs.
On 39 minutes a Rocha header put Cotterill clear but his cross in to the box was headed away by an Ipswich defender for a corner. Cotterill took the resulting corner which was met by Ward's head and Nugent was just unable to redirect the ball goalwards.
At last Pompy were starting to exert some pressure on the Ipswich goal. McLoughlin observed that Steve Cotterill would be happy to take the team in at half time with the score at nil-nil having survived the onslaught from the Ipswich juggernaut.
On 43 minutes, Edwards curled a cross in to the near post but Scotland just failed to hit the target. Hreidarsson appeared to be wilting a bit under the pressure from the home team down his flank.
On 44 minutes, Wickham missed the best opportunity of the first half from 3 yards out putting his header wide when it looked easier to hit the target and score. Norris found himself unmarked in the box and crossed perfectly to the far post but Wickham contrived to miss it, he tried to be too precise.
Ipswich had half a dozen presentable chances to this point and not taken any of them. Their profligacy could cost them. McLoughlin commented that if Wickham had scored it would have given the home team a well deserved lead. However, although Wickham looked a very special talent thankfully his heading wasn't as good as his footwork!
HT Ipswich Town 0-0 Portsmouth
Pompey were lucky to be going in at half-time on level terms. Ipswich had eight chances they'd contrived to miss during the first period. Pompey had not played well. In the second half they needed to up the tempo of their game and be more aggressive.
At the start of the second half the pressure from the home team was just as fierce as it had been in the first half. Ipswich were playing with a swagger and it appeared to be only a matter of time before they scored according to Herdman.
During the opening minutes of the second half Pompey couldn't get out of their own half and were 'hanging in there'. Wickham was again a key player and McLoughlin commented on his strength and power adding that he would be surprised if he was still at Portman Road after the Summer.
Ipswich were still pressing forward and Pompey were hanging on, similar in some respects to the away game against Swansea city.
On 53 minutes, Wickham passed to Scotland who saw his left footed shot come back in to the field pof play having hit the stanchion of the goal frame.
On 55 minutes, Bullard gave away a silly free kick which was taken by Cotterill. The cross went over Kitson only to find Nugent in the penalty area who skipped past Norris and fired off a shot which appeared to take a slight deflection in to the bottom corner goal past Fulop. It was a fantastic strike. The home fans booed Nugent as he celebrated yet another goal against Ipswich by running around the park. The goal had come against the run of play.
A minute later and Nugent found himself running in on goal but his shot went straight in to the arms of Fulop.
The rain had turned in to a steady deluge at Portman Road, inclement conditions on a dark and dirty day weather wise but the travelling fans were in good voice. There was little bit more urgency and belief in Pompey's play following the goal. The wind and the rain were making conditions difficult.
On the hour mark Kitson took the ball down the left flank and passed the ball to Nugent who in turn passed to Mullins. This was much better from Pompey. The game had become more open.
On 62 minutes, Martin skipped past Hreidarsson and the corner kick was conceded. It was taken by Bullard aiming for Mcauley and Delaney but was somehow cleared away by Pompey for another corner. Ashdown went up to claim the ball from the second corner but it was knocked from his grasp by an Ipswich defender before he managed to reclaim it.
On 64 minutes, Cotterill, Nugent, Hogg and de Laet combined well down the right but the move came to nothing. It was an absorbing, fascinating game now and the prevailing weather conditions had changed matters making it less conducive to Ipswich's passing game.
On 65 minutes, Ward was replaced by Aaron Mokoena, the Pompey youngster appeared to have a calf injury.
On 66 minutes, Pompey won another corner, Nugent winning the decision by playing the ball of Edwards' shins. Cotterill played the ball to Kitson who passed to Mullins but his shot was skewed horribly wide of the goal.
The home crowd had got quieter as Ipswich tended to rush their passes more and moves broke down quickly.
On 71 minutes, Halford played a free-kick in to the box aimed at Hreidarsson but Fulop collected the Ice Man's header in front of Kitson.
On 73 minutes, Ipswich made their first two changes of the afternoon bringing on Drury and Civelli for Scotland and Norris. Wickham was pushed up front in a more central position.
On 76 minutes, Hreidarsson blocked off a run by Martin and the ball was cleared away from danger by Hogg. Hreidarsson hadn't been under as much pressure in the second half compared to the first. This showed the shift in the balance of play.
On 77 minutes, Pompey extended their lead. Nugent played a beautifully timed ball to Cotterill who lifted the ball cleverly over Fulop. The goal had come about following a poor error by the Ipswich keeper, trying to kick the ball away on his weaker foot, he miskicked. It was a well taken goal by Cotterill. Now the home fans were stunned in to silence but the Pompey Chimes could be heard on the radio!
To using a boxing analogy Pompey had been knocked down and taken a count of nine only to bounce back to a winning position. Paul Jewell must have been fuming whereas Steve Cotterill would have been very proud of his players who had stuck to their task and remained stoical.
On 80 minutes, Mcloughlin noted that Ritchie de Laet had been outstanding for Pompey.
On 81 minutes, Fulop slid out of his penalty box like a cricketer fielding the ball with Nugent bearing down on him. Pompey just needed to concentrate now to see out the game and secure another three points.
On 84 minutes, Ipswich brought on Priskin in place of Martin.
On 85 minutes, Leadbitter fired in a low shot which was well handled by Ashdown who saw it comfortably all the way.
On 86 minutes, there were claims from the home side for a penalty as de Laet tackled Priskin but the referee deemed that the Belgian defender had taken the ball fairly. McLoughlin thought it was a penalty. We were urged to watch The Football League Show that evening on BBC1 to see who was right. McLoughlin and Herdman obviously never watch that show, it never goes in to the depth of analysis required.
On 89 minutes, Pompey started to wind down time with Nugent, Kitson and Mullins swapping passes to keep the ball. Herdman announced that de Laet was his MOTM.
In the 90th minute Pompey brought on Kanu in place of Mullins, who had taken a knock, and Dickinson in place of Nugent.
There were three minutes of added time. All of the energy had gone from the home team although Edwards had the last shot of the game firing a shot just wide of the goal.
FT Ipswich Town 0-2 Portsmouth
McLoughlin summarised: Ipswich had played very well but hadn't scored. Pompey collectively had worked much better as a team in the second half and 'stuck in there'. They had three chances in the whole game and scored twice. Ipswich had 15 chances! Pompey had dug in and been resilient. There is still more to come from Pompey, especially Kitson. With a good run of games coming up but no 'gimmes' McLoughlin was hopeful that Pompey could progress up the table.
Following this win Pompey had moved up to 13th on 44 points and 10 points of the play off positions. The play offs were still a possibility in McLoughlin's opinion.
Pompey versus Ipswich Town: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie de Laet, Hermann Hreidarsson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, David Cotterill, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, David Nugent, Joel Ward, Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Nadir Ciftci, Tom Kilby, Kanu, Carl Dickinson, Aaron Mokoena.
Next up for Pompey: Scunthorpe United at home on Tuesday 1st March at 7:45PM
Attendance: 23,345 including around 900 Pompey fans who'd made the trip
MOTM: despite Herdman calling de Laet as MOTM I'd have given it to David Nugent, he scored one goal and set up the other.
@PompeyChicken at Twitter.com
Here are some notes from the afternoon's commentary.
There was a pre-match interview with Pompey manager Steve Cotterill who said he enjoys going to Portman Road and was looking forward to it, he expected it to be a tough game. In Steve's view not much had changed in the way Ipswich had played under their former manager Roy Keane and the way they were playing under current manager Paul Jewell. Clubs have good runs (under Jewell) and bad runs (under Keane) he observed.
Herdman and McLoughlin reminded the listeners that Pompey had already won once in East Anglia this season (against Norwich City) and that the players were full of confidence and would be hoping to produce the same sort of performance as they did at Doncaster Rovers.
The Pompey team was unchanged from the previous game.
McLoughlin commented that Dave Kitson still had a lot to do to re-capture the form he showed during his days at Reading when he won promotion to the Premier League.
It was a damp Portman Road. Pompey were playing in their all black strip.
Former Ipswich player Hermann Hreidarsson got a good reception from the home fans.
Early on in the game Ipswich starlet, 17 year-old Connor Wickham, ran at Ritchie de Laet and McLoughlin commented that he saw that as an interesting match-up. On this occasion, de Laet 'put on the after burners' and was able to easily see off the threat. De Laet had started the game well.
Ipswich had started fractionally the better of the two teams.
On 5 minutes, David Cotterill and Ritchie de Laet overlapped and the ball was crossed in to the box but was safely gathered by Marton Fulop with Dave Kitson hovering.
On 6 minutes, Kitson flicked the ball on to Cotterill who crossed the ball but Joel Ward was unable to get on to the end of it.
On 7 minutes, Ipswich started to exert some pressure on Pompey and Jason Scotland fired in a shot that was well blocked by Hermann Hreidarsson.
On 9 minutes, Grant Leadbitter had a shot for Ipswich which hit Greg Halford. The shot came after good build up play involving Wickham, Lee Martin and David Norris.
On 10 minutes, Leadbitter was again in the action and his cross from the right hand side took a deflection off Halford for a corner which was taken short the ball eventually finding its way to Jimmy Bullard whose shot from distance came to nothing. McLoughlin described it as a “ridiculous shot”.
Ipswich were making the pitch big and creating lots of space through the midfield.
On 11 minutes, there was another Ipswich corner, taken by Bullard. Gareth Mcauley got in a header which hit Scotland in front of Pompey goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown. Mcauley hadn't been picked up at the corner by his marker David Nugent.
On 13 minutes, Hreidarsson lost the ball down the left flank giving Ipswich an opportunity for the ball to be crossed in to the box but it came to nothing.
On 15 minutes Pompey had a throw-in taken by Hreidarsson which found its way to Halford via Ricardo Rocha and Kitson but the move came to nothing and broke down. For Ipswich Leadbitter, Bullard and Martin were all regularly involved in the play and the home team were looking confident and had a good team shape, passing the ball around quickly.
On 17 minutes, the ball fell to Connor Wickham on the edge of the six yard area but Ashdown put his body on the line and flicked the shot up and over the cross bar for a corner kick. It was a good reaction save.
At this stage of the game McLoughlin's summary was that Pompey had no shape and were no real threat going forward. Ipswich were attacking and defending ' in numbers' according to Herdman.
On 20 minutes, Ricardo Rocha picked up what looked like a harsh booking for a foul on Norris.
On 21 minutes, Jason Scotland rose a la Paul Mariner in his pomp only to see the ball flash wide of the post from his header. McLoughlin commented that Pompey's defenders should have done better as Scotland wasn't the tallest of players.
He went on to say that Ipswich were creating plenty of chances and if that continued Pompey would eventually crack. Ipswich were moving the ball 'fantastically well' and had many options. Surprisingly Pompey were not working as a team but as individuals, their movement was inferior to their opponents. Pompey needed to hold a higher line, which would take some nerve, their backline was dropping off far too deep and there were big gaps opening up between the defenders, the midfield and the lone attacker.
The play had got a bit scrappy, with Jonathan Hogg losing the ball and Rocha mis-hitting a clearance up in to the air, all this as the pitch started to cut-up and the rain was lashing down much stronger than at the start of the game making play a bit tricky and benefiting Pompey a little as it hindered the flow of the home team's style.
On 28 minutes, Pompey won a corner, Damien Delaney putting the ball out of play, following David Cotterill's good run having been put through by Hayden Mullins. The corner came to nothing but Pompey appeared to have weathered the storm and their play was picking up.
On 29 minutes, de Laet broke through down the right flank and swapped a one-two with Cotterill but with a number of Pompey players waiting for the pass in the box the Belgian picked out nobody and the opportunity went begging. This was looking like an area that Pompey could exploit. They were beginning to grow in confidence and the on-loan Cotterill was starting to see a lot more of the ball. However, Pompey hadn't really tested Fulop in the Ipswich goal.
Carlos Edwards playing at right back was starting to get forward for the home team and got in a couple of useful looking crosses. Bullard, Leadbitter and Martin were continuing to see a lot of the ball and were passing it between themselves well.
On 35 minutes, a poor Halford free-kick aimed at Hreidarsson couldn't find its target.
On 36 minutes, a promising move between Kitson and Nugent broke down. The move started with a good Nugent turn but Kitson's pass back to his colleague was terrible. McLoughlin commented that Kitson either needed to hold the ball up for longer or make sure he finds the right pass.
On 38 minutes, Pompey had their first clear cut chance of the game and it fell to Kitson following a mistake by Leadbitter who should have cleared the ball away to safety. Kitson fired in a shot from the left hand side of the penalty area, with Delaney sliding across in front of him, but Fulop managed to save with his legs.
On 39 minutes a Rocha header put Cotterill clear but his cross in to the box was headed away by an Ipswich defender for a corner. Cotterill took the resulting corner which was met by Ward's head and Nugent was just unable to redirect the ball goalwards.
At last Pompy were starting to exert some pressure on the Ipswich goal. McLoughlin observed that Steve Cotterill would be happy to take the team in at half time with the score at nil-nil having survived the onslaught from the Ipswich juggernaut.
On 43 minutes, Edwards curled a cross in to the near post but Scotland just failed to hit the target. Hreidarsson appeared to be wilting a bit under the pressure from the home team down his flank.
On 44 minutes, Wickham missed the best opportunity of the first half from 3 yards out putting his header wide when it looked easier to hit the target and score. Norris found himself unmarked in the box and crossed perfectly to the far post but Wickham contrived to miss it, he tried to be too precise.
Ipswich had half a dozen presentable chances to this point and not taken any of them. Their profligacy could cost them. McLoughlin commented that if Wickham had scored it would have given the home team a well deserved lead. However, although Wickham looked a very special talent thankfully his heading wasn't as good as his footwork!
HT Ipswich Town 0-0 Portsmouth
Pompey were lucky to be going in at half-time on level terms. Ipswich had eight chances they'd contrived to miss during the first period. Pompey had not played well. In the second half they needed to up the tempo of their game and be more aggressive.
At the start of the second half the pressure from the home team was just as fierce as it had been in the first half. Ipswich were playing with a swagger and it appeared to be only a matter of time before they scored according to Herdman.
During the opening minutes of the second half Pompey couldn't get out of their own half and were 'hanging in there'. Wickham was again a key player and McLoughlin commented on his strength and power adding that he would be surprised if he was still at Portman Road after the Summer.
Ipswich were still pressing forward and Pompey were hanging on, similar in some respects to the away game against Swansea city.
On 53 minutes, Wickham passed to Scotland who saw his left footed shot come back in to the field pof play having hit the stanchion of the goal frame.
On 55 minutes, Bullard gave away a silly free kick which was taken by Cotterill. The cross went over Kitson only to find Nugent in the penalty area who skipped past Norris and fired off a shot which appeared to take a slight deflection in to the bottom corner goal past Fulop. It was a fantastic strike. The home fans booed Nugent as he celebrated yet another goal against Ipswich by running around the park. The goal had come against the run of play.
A minute later and Nugent found himself running in on goal but his shot went straight in to the arms of Fulop.
The rain had turned in to a steady deluge at Portman Road, inclement conditions on a dark and dirty day weather wise but the travelling fans were in good voice. There was little bit more urgency and belief in Pompey's play following the goal. The wind and the rain were making conditions difficult.
On the hour mark Kitson took the ball down the left flank and passed the ball to Nugent who in turn passed to Mullins. This was much better from Pompey. The game had become more open.
On 62 minutes, Martin skipped past Hreidarsson and the corner kick was conceded. It was taken by Bullard aiming for Mcauley and Delaney but was somehow cleared away by Pompey for another corner. Ashdown went up to claim the ball from the second corner but it was knocked from his grasp by an Ipswich defender before he managed to reclaim it.
On 64 minutes, Cotterill, Nugent, Hogg and de Laet combined well down the right but the move came to nothing. It was an absorbing, fascinating game now and the prevailing weather conditions had changed matters making it less conducive to Ipswich's passing game.
On 65 minutes, Ward was replaced by Aaron Mokoena, the Pompey youngster appeared to have a calf injury.
On 66 minutes, Pompey won another corner, Nugent winning the decision by playing the ball of Edwards' shins. Cotterill played the ball to Kitson who passed to Mullins but his shot was skewed horribly wide of the goal.
The home crowd had got quieter as Ipswich tended to rush their passes more and moves broke down quickly.
On 71 minutes, Halford played a free-kick in to the box aimed at Hreidarsson but Fulop collected the Ice Man's header in front of Kitson.
On 73 minutes, Ipswich made their first two changes of the afternoon bringing on Drury and Civelli for Scotland and Norris. Wickham was pushed up front in a more central position.
On 76 minutes, Hreidarsson blocked off a run by Martin and the ball was cleared away from danger by Hogg. Hreidarsson hadn't been under as much pressure in the second half compared to the first. This showed the shift in the balance of play.
On 77 minutes, Pompey extended their lead. Nugent played a beautifully timed ball to Cotterill who lifted the ball cleverly over Fulop. The goal had come about following a poor error by the Ipswich keeper, trying to kick the ball away on his weaker foot, he miskicked. It was a well taken goal by Cotterill. Now the home fans were stunned in to silence but the Pompey Chimes could be heard on the radio!
To using a boxing analogy Pompey had been knocked down and taken a count of nine only to bounce back to a winning position. Paul Jewell must have been fuming whereas Steve Cotterill would have been very proud of his players who had stuck to their task and remained stoical.
On 80 minutes, Mcloughlin noted that Ritchie de Laet had been outstanding for Pompey.
On 81 minutes, Fulop slid out of his penalty box like a cricketer fielding the ball with Nugent bearing down on him. Pompey just needed to concentrate now to see out the game and secure another three points.
On 84 minutes, Ipswich brought on Priskin in place of Martin.
On 85 minutes, Leadbitter fired in a low shot which was well handled by Ashdown who saw it comfortably all the way.
On 86 minutes, there were claims from the home side for a penalty as de Laet tackled Priskin but the referee deemed that the Belgian defender had taken the ball fairly. McLoughlin thought it was a penalty. We were urged to watch The Football League Show that evening on BBC1 to see who was right. McLoughlin and Herdman obviously never watch that show, it never goes in to the depth of analysis required.
On 89 minutes, Pompey started to wind down time with Nugent, Kitson and Mullins swapping passes to keep the ball. Herdman announced that de Laet was his MOTM.
In the 90th minute Pompey brought on Kanu in place of Mullins, who had taken a knock, and Dickinson in place of Nugent.
There were three minutes of added time. All of the energy had gone from the home team although Edwards had the last shot of the game firing a shot just wide of the goal.
FT Ipswich Town 0-2 Portsmouth
McLoughlin summarised: Ipswich had played very well but hadn't scored. Pompey collectively had worked much better as a team in the second half and 'stuck in there'. They had three chances in the whole game and scored twice. Ipswich had 15 chances! Pompey had dug in and been resilient. There is still more to come from Pompey, especially Kitson. With a good run of games coming up but no 'gimmes' McLoughlin was hopeful that Pompey could progress up the table.
Following this win Pompey had moved up to 13th on 44 points and 10 points of the play off positions. The play offs were still a possibility in McLoughlin's opinion.
Pompey versus Ipswich Town: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie de Laet, Hermann Hreidarsson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, David Cotterill, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, David Nugent, Joel Ward, Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Nadir Ciftci, Tom Kilby, Kanu, Carl Dickinson, Aaron Mokoena.
Next up for Pompey: Scunthorpe United at home on Tuesday 1st March at 7:45PM
Attendance: 23,345 including around 900 Pompey fans who'd made the trip
MOTM: despite Herdman calling de Laet as MOTM I'd have given it to David Nugent, he scored one goal and set up the other.
@PompeyChicken at Twitter.com
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