29/10/2011 Derby County 3-1 Portsmouth: Pictures Of Pride Park

Here are some pictures I took of Pride Park. It is a modern stadium similar to St Mary's, The Madjedski and The Riverside.

It has some nice features including images of two Derby County players at the main entrance on the West Stand, a fans' bricks area along the East Stand, a tribute to former Chairman Lionel Pickering in the North West Corner Stand and a statue of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor that is perfectly positioned.

The view of the stadium on my approach. I arrived the same time as the stewards!

The Main Entrance in the West Stand view looking towards the North West Corner Stand. Toyota had a couple of cars on display as you can see.

The view of the West Stand looking towards the South West Corner Stand.

Image of former Derby County player and captain Igor Stimac. Who would Pompey have an image of I wonder?

Image of current Derby County club captain Shaun Barker. What would Pompey fans think of a Liam Lawrence image on display at the back of the Fratton End I wonder? I'm not sure if Shaun is injured but he didn't feature for Derby in this match.

A Rams image on the corner of the South West Stand.

The South Stand. Away supporters enter the ground through the turnstiles in this stand.

Image of the East Stand.

A picture of one block of fans' bricks that line the East Stand. There are quite a few blocks. Each brick has names of fans.

The Derby County FC Shop at the end of the East Stand.

Another view of the Derby County FC Shop looking back along the East Stand.

Greggs the Bakers! This is on the corner of the North Stand.

A longer view of the North Stand, which is sponsored by the University of Derby (that's the green image).

Starbucks! Mrs PompeyChicken was very excited to hear about this! It's positioned at the corner of the North West Stand.

The tribute to Lionel Pickering, former Chairman of Derby County, at the Lionel Pickering Entrance.

The flags blowing over the West Stand.

The Main Entrance of the West Stand.

A view of the Brian Clough and Peter Taylor statue from a distance. The corner of the North West Stand is in the distance. The statue is really well done and positioned in a marbelled seating area. There are points all around the base of the statue pointing towards other grounds - like a compass - that include The Baseball Ground (1 mile) amongst others. Of all the football statues I've seen so far this ranks up there highly. I was impressed.

A closer view of the Brian Clough and Peter Taylor statue.

The main plaque, one of a few, underneath the statue plinth.

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29/10/2011 Derby County 3-1 Portsmouth: The Pompey Musketeers Have A Day Out At Derby County

Left-to-right: @duncanowen @paulpfcgarner @davesargent @pompeychicken @davelthomas1983 @cfpfc1978 @diplockovic

The Pompey Musketeers celebrating Pompey's magnificent win at Pride Park against Derby County. Oh, hold on...

...Pompey found themselves three-nil down after half an hour and it was effectively game over. A Jason Pearce header in the second half, his first for the Club, added a consolation goal.

Meeting up with these guys after the match was the highlight of the day. We must do it again sometime soon.

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From Falmouth To Wembley: Bodmin Town Pass The Baton To Godalming Town After A Replay

In the sixth and seventh match reports from this season's FA Cup Bodmin Town carry the baton in this Third Qualifying Round tie.

You can read the match report from the Extra Preliminary Qualifying Round by clicking here ==> From Falmouth To Wembley: Falmouth Town AFC

and the match report from the Preliminary Qualifying Round can be found by clicking here ==> From Falmouth To Wembley: Bodmin Town FC

and the match report from the First Qualifying Round can be found by clicking here ==> From Falmouth To Wembley: Bodmin Town The Journey Continues In To Uncharted Territory

and the match reports from the Second Qualifying Round can be found by clicking here ==> From Falmouth To Wembley: Bodmin Town – The Giant Killing Continues As The First Round Proper Gets Tantalisingly Close

FA Cup Third Qualifying Round 2011-12: Bodmin Town 1-1 Godalming Town
Bodmin Town earned a replay in this FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round tie against Godalming Town at Priory Park in front of a crowd of around 300.

Bodmin Town were making history as this was the first time that the Club had reached the third qualifying round of the F.A. Cup.

If they were to progress further in the competition another giant killing act was required, Bodmin having beaten Barnstaple and Yate Town in the two previous rounds.

Their opponents on this occasion were Godalming Town who play in the Rymans Isthmian League, two leagues higher than Bodmin in the football pyramid.

Both the goals came in the first half. The home side took the lead after only 11 minutes through Adam Carter only to concede a Darren Wheeler equaliser on the half-hour.

Carter's goal came following a cross from the left by Luke Rundle. Carter got to the ball at the near post first and flicked it into the net.

In the 26th minute Carter had an opportunity to make it 2-0. Steve Colwell passed the ball to Danny O'Hagan on the edge of penalty box. O'Hagan held up the ball before passing to Carter who took the ball wide before shooting from a narrow angle. Unfortunately for Bodmin he hit the post and the ball bounced away to safety.

Wheeler's goal came five minutes later as he cut inside from the left and struck a low shot into the far corner.

Godalming looked the stronger team towards the end of the first half but there were no more goals.

HT: Bodmin Town 1-1 Godalming Town

Bodmin started the second period brightly and created a number of good chances, including a Chambers header that Norris tipped on to the crossbar to concede a corner, but were unable to regain the lead.

In the 57th minute the referee awarded the visitors a penalty after goalkeeper Miller was adjudged to have brought down Wheeler.

Wheeler got up to take the spot kick but Miller guessed correctly and diving to his left he made a good save, although it wasn't the greatest penalty kick.

Godalming got stronger towards the end of the match and Gavin Smith hit the crossbar for the visitors.

The home team had their own appeals for a penalty in the final minutes waved away by the referee following a handball incident.

Some fine goalkeeping and defending from the home team secured the draw and a replay on Tuesday October 18th in Surrey.

Post-Match Comments From Bodmin Town Manager Darren Gilbert
"We'll go up there on Tuesday and have another go at them. We won't be sitting back, we'll have a go. They were expected to come here and turn us over but we matched them and I am really proud of the players. Everybody wrote us off but this squad has so much character, so I wouldn't give up on us just yet."

FT: Bodmin Town 1-1 Godalming Town

Bodmin Town MOTM:the Bodmin Town website declared Kevin Miller (goalkeeper) as the Man Of The Match for a fine performance including the penalty save that effectively took the game to a replay.

Bodmin Town versus Godalming Town FA Cup Third Qualifying Round: Kevin Miller, Huw Morgan, Luke Rundle, Tom Chambers, Steve Simmonds, Olly Brokenshire, Steve Colwell, Sam Matthews, Danny O'Hagan, Adam Carter, Jack Bartlett. Substitutes used: Lewis Reed, Ben Smallridge and Chris Luxton.

Reference Sources

Bodmin Town 1-1 Godalming Town, Bodmin Town FC Website Match Report

Bodmin Town earn another chance after FA Cup thriller by Kevin Marriott

FA Cup Third Qualifying Round Replay 2011-12: Godalming Town 5-1 Bodmin Town

Bodmin Town exited the FA Cup following this heavy replay defeat away to Godalming Town at Wey Court in front of a crowd of 360 the biggest home gate of the season for the Surrey club.

Bodmin played aound 50 minutes of the game with ten men after Lewis Read suffered a heavy challenge and was sent off for retaliation.

By that point the Cornish team was already two goals down both goals coming in the first twenty minutes of a half whcih the home team dominated.

The first Godalming Town goal came on 16 minutes from a long throw-in that was headed in by Dan Read.

Shortly afterwards it was two-nil when Warren Harris powerfully met a low cross from the left flank to score.

Godalming were attacking Bodmin’s defence with speed and directness and a combination of poor finishing, good defending and good saves kept the scoreline to two-nil at half-time.

HT: Godalming Town 2-0 Bodmin Town

The home team started the second period the same way as they finished the first, putting their visitors under pressure.

The tie was effectively secured on 51 minutes when Dan Read scored Bodmin's third and his second goal of the night following a poor defensive clearance. Read collected the ball and struck a low left-footed shot cross in to the far corner of the goal.

In the 58th minute Bodmin were awarded a penalty following an infringement in the penalty box and Chris Luxton sent the Godalming 'keeper Norris the wrong way to make it three-one.

Ten minutes later Godalming scored their fourth goal when Warren Harris scored his second running into the penalty box and scoring with another low shot into the far corner of the net.

In the 82nd minute Bodmin thought they had scored a second when a tremdously hit free-kick from Brokenshire from the left hand side of the penalty area flew into the top of the far corner of the goal. Unfortunately, the referee disallowed it.

In the 83rd minute Dan Read completed his hat-trick in scoring Godalming's fifth following his interception of a poor back-pass which he slotted past Bodmin's 'keeper Miller.

FT: Godalming Town 5-1 Bodmin Town

Darren Gilbert Post-Match Comments
"It was very disappointing, especially after the first game when I felt we should have beaten them. But you can't expect to beat a team as good as Godalming at their own place with ten men."

Next Up: so the FA Cup baton is passed from Cornwall to Surrey; from Bodmin Town - who've been involved in all the games I've covered to date this season - to Godalming Town. In the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round Godalming Town will play Maidenhead United at home on Saturday October 29th at 3PM.

Bodmin Town MOTM: The Bodmin Town website again declared Kevin Miller (goalkeeper) as their Man-Of-The-Match.

Bodmin Town versus Godalming Town FA Cup 3QR Replay: Kevin Miller, Lewis Reed, Huw Morgan, Tom Chambers, Steve Simmonds, Olly Brokenshire, Steve Colwell, Sam Matthews, Danny O'Hagan, Chris Luxton, Ben Smallridge. Substitutes used: Adam Carter and Luke Hodge.

Reference Sources
Godalming Town 5-1 Bodmin Town, Bodmin Town FC Website Match Report

Cornish Guardian Match Coverage in Grassroots

Hat Trick Ends Bodmin FA Cup Dream by Kevin Marriott, match report on the This Is Cornwall website

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22/10/2011 Portsmouth 3-1 Doncaster Rovers: Ruff On Donny The Dog But Pompey Deservedly Win

The Pompey 'Til I Die flag on the Milton End.

The Doncaster Rovers fans on the Milton End. I probably did them a dis-service when I tweeted before the game that there was a bus-load...there was a good few more than that in attendance by the time kick-off arrived.

Former Pompey professionals introduced on the pitch before the game.

Andy Awford gives Ashley Harris his award for the goal he scored against MK Dons.

A Luke Varney double and a goal from Dave Kitson steered Pompey to three valuable points in this Championship encounter.

With Benjani still out injured Pompey made one change to the team that started against Ipswich Town in mid-week: Norwegian Erik Huseklepp came in to the starting line-up and Joel Ward dropped to the substitutes bench where he took his place alongside Marko Futacs.

Pompey couldn't have got off to a better start and scored within three minutes. It was the epitomy of route one football. Henderson kicked the ball long downfield from his own penalty area and his long clearance bounced amongst the Doncaster defenders whose ponderance allowed Luke Varney to step in and tap the ball home past veteran goalkeeper Neil Sullivan.

Despite a couple of other early chances for the home team Pompey's performance degenerated from that early high point allowing Doncaster Rovers back in to the match.

Just before the half hour Stephen Henderson denied Kyle Bennett's long range effort with a good save to his right. However, the ball went out for a corner from which the away team scored: Doncaster's talisman Billy Sharp took the corner and found former Southampton trainee Kyle Gillett unmarked on the edge of the penalty area. He took full advantage of Pompey's slack defending to smash a fantastic drive past Henderson in to the corner of the goal past his right hand.

Pompey's two stand out players in the first half were Dave Kitson, who was leading the line well, and Tal Ben Haim who continued to show good form with his surging, skilful runs from the left back position.

HT: Portsmouth 1-1 Doncaster Rovers

Donny the Dog, the away team mascot, was very harshly done by in the half-time race against Nelson the Pompey mascot - the on-pitch compere deciding the home team mascot had just nicked the decision to score against Mary Rose in front of the Fratton End following a race from the halfway line. Donny The Dog was not a happy bunny...or dog for that matter.

Erik Huseklepp looked much livelier in the second half and was starting to have a bigger influence on the proceedings and Pompey were brighter all round.

It was no surprise when Pompey took the lead with a goal from Dave Kitson in the 68th minute. Huseklepp's cross in to the box caused problems before David Norris hooked it goalbound and Kitson reacted strongly to head the ball home in front of the Fratton Faithful.

Varney's second goal of the game came seven minutes later and again involved the Norwegian international whose run down the left hand flank on to the end of a Kitson pass caused Doncaster problems. His low cross in to the box found Varney who slotted it home with the side of his right foot.

Pompey deserved this win against a Doncaster Rovers team still finding their way under former Wrexham manager Dean Saunders.

The away team didn't really trouble Henderson in the Pompey goal during the second half and looked a shadow of the team that visited last season. It was a surprise to see James Coppinger come off the bench as a second half replacement, he'd been such a thorn in Pompey's side last season.

Overall, this performance was such a contrast to their last visit to Fratton Park, under the wily stewardship of Sean O'Driscoll, when Doncaster won 3-2.

With Pompey still managerless that performance still ranks high amongst the Pompey faithful and coupled with the good work he did with The Cherries is probably why he's in the running to replace the now departed Steve Cotterill.

FT: Portsmouth 3-1 Doncaster Rovers

Match Action Pictures

The Pompey players celebrate Luke Varney's early goal in front of the North Terrace.

Dave Kitson rises for the ball.

Action in the penalty area following a corner kick.

Dave Kitson controls the ball.

Erik Huseklepp receives the ball.

The Pompey fans on the North Terrace shade their eyes from the bright sunshine as Dave Kitson receives another pass.

The Pompey players celebrate in front of the Fratton End.

Stephen Henderson takes a free kick

Dave Kitson goes up for a header.

Dave Kitson receives the ball.

Portsmouth versus Doncaster Rovers: Stephen Henderson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Jason Pearce, Tal Ben Haim, Liam Lawrence, David Norris, Hayden Mullins, Erik Huseklepp, LukeVarney, Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Jamie Ashdown, Aaron Mokoena, Kanu, Joel Ward and Marko Futacs

Attendance: 12,779

MOTM: Luke Varney was voted Pompey MOTM by the fans using the new text voting service. However, my vote would have gone to Dave Kitson.

Next up for Pompey: Derby County away on Saturday 29th October at 3PM

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18/10/2011 Ipswich Town 1-0 Portsmouth: Right Tactics Wrong Outcome

The Matchday programme, I bought this at the recent Portsmouth Football Programme and Memorabilia Fair at Fratton Park

I listened to the BBC Radio Solent coverage of this game with match commentator Paul Scott and summariser former Pompey player Mark Kelly. Here are my notes.

It was noted that this was Ipswich Town's sixth game in a row unchanged, they were clearly a 'settled side'.

For Pompey it was nine games without an away win the last one was at The Walkers Stadium against Leicester City.

Ipswich had conceded nine goals in the first-half this season leading up this game, only Nottingham Forest having conceded more.

Pompey were playing in their third kit of red and black.

It was an important game for two Pompey players: former Ipswich captain Norris returning to his old stomping ground and Liam Lawrence who had been sent off against QPR last season, the last time Mr Ward had officiated a Pompey game.

There were some good positive signs from Pompey during the early stages of the game.

In the 13th minute, Hayden Mullins shot over the cross bar from the edge of the penalty box after a good combination of passes between Luke Varney, Dave Kitson and Joel Ward had oppend up the shooting opportunity.

In the 20th minute, Varney found himself one-on-one with the Ipswich 'keeper Stockdale after some good play between David Norris and Liam Lawrence, a 25-30 yard pass put him through. Varney's effort was well saved by David Stockdale. It had been the best opportunity of the match to that point.

Jimmy Bullard was not having one of his finest evenings and gave the ball away four times in the first 22 minutes in attempts to get the ball in behind Pompey's defence.

Ipswich were passing the ball from side-to-side in front of Pompey and looking to the full backs to connect up with the midfield but they were not causing too many problems.

There were two different styles of play on display and each side was doing its best to stamp their authority on the game.

Pompey were playing patiently and edging the play, putting the ball in to the holes and getting in behind the Ipswich defence. Three or four times Varney had received the ball putting former Pompey loanee Ibrahimo Sonko under pressure and he wasn't enjoying it. The tactics were working well for Pompey and they were ahead in terms of both territory and possession.

Pompey won a number of corners during the first period but were unable to punish the home team. On 22 minutes, Dave Kitson had a glorious opportunity to score, the ball landed at his feet six yards out but he put it agonizingly wide with his left foot.

Ipswich manager Paul Jewell was on the sidelines shrugging his shoulders, arms out wide, not happy as Ipswich were limited to long range efforts on goal. It was fully expected that Ipswich would come out for the second half having had a rollicking from their manager.

HT: Ipswich Town 0-0 Portsmouth

Ipswich started the second half with the same diamond formation they used in the first half. However, Ipswich were finding it difficult to string together passes.

Pompey played 4-4-2 when they had possession of the ball and 4-5-1 when they didn't with Dave Kitson dropping to mark Jimmy Bullard.

This was proving to be a real test of character for Ipswich. The home fans, more used to seeing their team get their own way, were becoming frustrated as a result of Pompey's disciplined approach with regular forages in behind the home team's defence.

Pompey had an early chance to take the lead when Liam Lawrence had a good chance to score but he somehow failed to connect with the ball.

After 65 minutes Ipswich had made all three substitutions in an attempt to change things around. The starting Ipswich strikers had proved to be ineffective on the night.

Suddenly the tide appeared to change as the home fans sensed that their team had weathered the storm and Pompey suffered a few nervy moments.

The only goal of the game came on 69 minutes and was clearly against the overall run of play

Substitute Emmanuel-Thomas misjudged a header, wrong-footing the Pompey defence and the ball fell kindly for Irish international Andrews to score.

On 71 minutes Joel Ward had a good chance to score but the ball landed on the roof of the net from his shot.

Pompey made two substitutions in quick succession an attempt to get back in to the game: Huseklepp came on for Kitson and shortly afterwads Kanu forRocha.

With four minutes of added time signalled, Pompey pushed Greg Halford forward to try and make a nuisance of himself and Aaron Mokoena dropped back in to the defence. It was a manic end to the game as Pompey bombarded the Ipswich penalty box to apply some pressure and attempted to pick up the bits and pieces that resulted.

Ipswich dropped back and defended deeply but despite Kanu winning a last minute corner they were able to withold the pressure and hold on for the win, the fourth game they had won in a row.

FT: Ipswich Town 1-0 Portsmouth

Portsmouth versus Ipswich Town: Stephen Henderson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Jason Pearce, Tal Ben Haim, Joel Ward, Hayden Mullins, David Norris, Liam Lawrence, Luke Varney, Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Jamie Ashdown, Aaron Mokoena, Bjorn Helge Riise, Erik Huseklepp and Kanu.

Attendance: 17,297 with 442 Pompey fans making the trip.

MOTM: it was unclear from the commentary who the stand-out Pompey player was for this game.

Next Up For Pompey: Doncaster Rovers at Fratton Park on Saturday 22nd October 3PM kick-off.

Mark Kelly's Post-Match Summary
There were plenty of positives to take away from the performance: tactically Pompey were set-up right and got it right. This led to Ipswich becoming frustrated as the game progressed.

Ipswich were set-up to play the diamond formation and keep the ball moving. They have some experienced players to do that. But Pompey kept Jimmy Bullard quiet for much of the night and Lee Bower was anonymous.

Pompey regularly got in behind the Ipswich defence and created a number of clearcut chances in both halves of the match. However, they lack a natural goal scorer up-front: someone with that killer instinct and that was frustrating. Getting Dave Kitson 'right' will be key in the upcoming matches.

Not many teams will go to Portman Road this season and be in control for much of the game as Pompey had been.

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A Minority Report

I may well have been in the minority when Steve Cotterill left Portsmouth FC last weekend to join Nottingham Forest: I was disappointed.

Granted he wasn't everyone's cup-of-tea and negative sentiment had built up amongst the fans following a slow start to this season.

A combination of inconsistent and poor performances, frustrating tactics, poor on-pitch discipline and disappointing results will always irk even diehard fans. Throw the dwindling attendances at Fratton Park in to the mix and it didn't take long for the negative spiral to pick up momentum.

Two wins out of three games since Cotterill's departure do nothing to strengthen my minority position either!

So why the disappointment? Well, I look back to the start of the 2010-11 season and Pompey's opening game of the season away to Coventry City. There can be no doubt the Club was in dire straights at that point.

Just relegated from the Premier League, Portsmouth was still in administration, the heart of the FA Cup Final team in May had been ripped out and playing resources were painfully thin.

Pompey lost at Coventry in a performance of utter mediocrity and started the season looking a good bet to be relegated to League One. But as we know, that didn't happen.

If I reflect on what's happened in the 14 months since then and compare it with the situation today it's clear that the Club has come a long way under trying circumstances but there is still so much to do.

Cotterill was the man who steered the Club through those difficult times, safely securing Championship status with games to spare. He galvanized the Club through a period of uncertainty and adversity.

The playing highs for me were the two seven match unbeaten runs: the first from September 24th to October 30th 2010 and the second from February 5th to March 5th 2011. The latter included six wins on the trot without a goal being conceded (a post-War record of 636 minutes of play without conceding a goal was set).

However, at the end of the season the team, heavily endowed with loans, disbanded and Cotterill was effectively back at square one facing his second re-building job in less than a year. And therein lies the disappointment for me: we never saw Cotterill operating under anything other than difficult circumstances.

His second year at Pompey barely saw the team get from 'forming' to 'storming' before the call came from Nottingham Forest and now we'll never know how things might have turned out. Seeing things through, taking the longer term path to see where it leads, is something that rarely happens in football these days.

In some quarters the outcome will be viewed as favourable to all parties: Forest got their man, Pompey received compensation and Cotterill didn't face the ignominy of the sack.

But now there will always be the unanswered 'what if' question and what will really irk and disappoint is if history repeats itself and Steve Cotterill achieves at The City Ground what Tony Pullis has done at The Brittania.

It'll be interesting to see how much time he gets at Nottingham Forest. I for one wish him luck and more importantly thank him for what he did at Portsmouth to stabilize the Club in the Championship.

Today as we enter the P-C Era, many Pompey fans will tell you that they're glad to see the back of Steve Cotterill. I believe the history books will view his tenure as manager in a slightly more positive light.

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Family Football Festival: A Football 'Funtogether' October 22nd 2011

I picked up this leaflet in the Pompey Megastore on Saturday before the game against Barnsley.

Looks like it'll be fun next weekend for the Pompey versus Doncaster Rovers match. Refer to the website on the leaflet for full details.

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Portsmouth Football Programme and Memorabilia Fair Sunday 23rd October 11AM to 2PM In The Victory Suite

The latest Portsmouth Football Programme and Memorabilia Fair will be held at Fratton Park on Sunday 23rd October.

I saw this poster on display in the ground and there was an announcement about the event, which is now in its 31st year, over the tannoy during the Barnsley game.

As you may know I love these events, they're always a great way to spend a couple of hours searching through boxes of old football programmes. Or looking at the various football collections be they badges, cigarette cards, pictures, magazines, posters or books.

Of course it goes without saying that those who run the stands at these Fairs are always very friendly and knowledgable as well.

So, why not go along this Sunday and see what you can find? Entrance is one pound and kids under 16 get in for free.

I'll be the one with the feathers...see ya there!

@PompeyChicken at Twitter.com

15/10/2011 Portsmouth 2-0 Barnsley: The Magic Pompey Trust Bus

I spent some time talking to the chaps running the Pompey Trust Bus in the Fratton Park car park behind the Fratton End before Saturday's game. It was being manned by @PompeyTrust (Scott, left) and @MickWill (Mick, right) to use their Twitter IDs.

Pop by and see them next time you're there they'd be very happy to see you and you can find out more about the Trust and sign you up to join if you wish.

@PompeyChicken at Twitter.com

15/10/2011 Portsmouth 2-0 Barnsley: Laughing All The Way Into The P-C Era

Pompey won the first match of the Post-Cotterill era in front of the live Sky TV cameras with two second-half goals in less than a minute from David Norris and Luke Varney.

Steve Cotterill sometimes referred to the two lively, diminutive players as The Chuckle Brothers and their goals certainly brought smiles to everyone's faces.

Stephen Henderson retained his place in goal instead of Jamie Ashdown to make his league debut at Fratton Park.

Luke Varney returned to the starting line-up following his three match ban picked up when he saw a straight red card at Hull City.

Joel Ward dropped to the bench with welcome return to the starting line-up for Ricardo Rocha.

The match also saw the return of Dave Kitson from a rib injury, the striker taking his place on the bench.

There was no place on the bench however for on-loan Bjorn Helge Riise, Ryan Williams or Marko Futacs, the latter was on pre-match duty doing presentations.

Suddenly, Pompey's squad looks much stronger, highlighting the negative impact injuries and suspensions can have when the overall numbers are small.

Coaches Guy Whittingham and Stuart Gray took charge of team affairs and shared the technical area throughout the match (although Gray held the clipboard!).

There were some positive signs for Pompey in the first-half. Tal Ben Haim made one surging, skilful run from left back towards goal, unchallenged before he was blocked on the edge of the penalty area by a Barnsley defender. The referee Mr Hooper waved away calls for a free-kick deeming the defender's action to be fair.

Varney had one shot which fired over the cross-bar and in to the Milton End following some good work down the left, a move we've seen from him before this season on more than one occasion, at Ashton Gate for example he hit the cross-bar.

Norris was having his best game in a Pompey shirt since his Summer move to the South Coast and he was on the end of a very clever piece of Pompey play which had Varney at its heart. If it had come off it would have been up there as a goal of the season contender. Unfortunately Norris was just unable to get any power behind his attempt at chipping Luke Steele in the Barnsley goal who was able to claw the ball away to safety before Benjani could pick up the pieces.

Ricardo Rocha was doing what he does best: no-nonsense defending. His blocking and tackling was inspirational, one tackle in the Barnsley half particularly stood out as it sparked the crowd into life with some appreciative applause and cheers. It's those small things in a game which can make a big difference.

It has to be said that the best chances of the first-half fell to the visitors who came in to the game on a decent run of form.

Ricardo Vaz Te smashed a shot over the cross-bar from 12 yards and Jacob Butterfield struck the upright with a fierce shot from outside the penalty box having earlier forced Henderson into a two handed block from similar distance.

Whereas Butterfield looked impressive, Vaz Te looked pacy but inconsistent, his 'dive' looking for a penalty did him no favours and he was replaced at the break by the no nonsense Tykes' manager Keith Hill.

HT: Portsmouth 0-0 Barnsley

Pompey noticeably picked-up the pace of the game at the start of the second half and Benjani looked particularly lively up-front collecting balls through the middle and in the right channel. The Zimbabwean had one weak shot on goal and was also bundled over in the box but appeals for a penalty were ignored by the referee.

Liam Lawrence, playing in a more central role, set-up a great chance for Norwegian Erik Huseklepp to open the scoring but he somehow spurned the chance mis-hitting his shot in to the ground which was easily cleared off the line by the defender.

Varney also had an excellent chance to score finding himself free on the left side of the penalty area but the Barnsley defender Jay McEveley made an excellent last-ditch tackle before he could get off the shot. That defending brought a ripple of applause and acknowledgement from the knowledgeable fans around the ground.

Benjani had been struggling with his hamstring since the 'non-penalty' incident (the defender had fallen on to the backs of his legs) and he was eventually replaced by Dave Kitson. Within five minutes of his arrival Pompey were two goals to the good.

The first was an excellent volley from Norris who showed some super skill to control a cross from the right by Huseklepp before hitting the ball left footed into the net past Steele on the volley.

Within a minute the lead was doubled and the Pompey fans were in raptures. This time substitute Kitson found himself down the right hand side before pulling the ball back for Varney to score in front of the Fratton End. The new Father provided a suitable celebration in the corner of the Fratton End and the South Stand with his team mates - it looked like it involved thumb sucking.

Barnsley continued to threat and Henderson was twice troubled making one particular good save to tip the ball over the bar at full stretch.

Pompey were able to see the game out to secure the three points with some sensible play securing their third league win of the season after Reading and Blackpool. It was a well deserved win in what has been a difficult 48 hours off the field.

FT: Portsmouth 2-0 Barnsley

Match action pictures

Match action I

Match action II

Match action III

Match action IV

Match action V

Match action VI

The Pompey players celebrate with a mid-pitch huddle and cuddle.

One of two impromptu drinks breaks taken during the second half.

Post-match TV interviews for Sky TV

Norris and Varney exit the pitch after the match, stage left, pursued by a bear...I mean a cameraman.

Portsmouth versus Barnsley: Stephen Henderson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Jason Pearce, Tal Ben Haim, Liam Lawrence, Hayden Mullins, David Norris, Erik Huseklepp, Benjani, Luke Varney. Substituties: Jamie Ashdown, Aaron Mokoena, Kanu, Joel Ward and Dave Kitson.

Attendance: 11,261

Referee: Mr S Hooper

MOTM: the official award went to Luke Varney, I would have given it to Ricardo Rocha.

Next up for Pompey: Ipswich Town away at Portman Road on Tuesday 18th October at 7:45PM.

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