This was Pompey's third consecutive win in pre-season, without conceding a goal (Aldershot [A] 1-0 and Bolton [H] 3-0 being the other two matches).
If this was a normal pre-season for Portsmouth FC then Pompey fans would be quietly confident about the momentum building and the 2012-13 season ahead.
Unfortunately, Pompey haven't completed what could be described as a 'normal' pre-season since the Summer of 2008.
With the lack of permanent playing staff, the Football League conditions and the threat of liquidation still hanging over the club, despite the progress made by the Administrator in removing the 'high earners' from the wage bill, 'uncertainty' was still the watchword on the lips of the travelling faithful at the Kingsmeadow Stadium.
The Pompey team was dominated by trialists with just Liam Lawrence, Tal Ben Haim and Ashley Harris, playing out of position for this match down the left hand side, being on the books. [Lawrence and Tal Ben Haim had of course compromised and left the Club by the end of the week].
Pompey played well and passed the ball around the pitch, which looked like it could do with a cut, with a certain aplomb at times. It was good to see.
The two goals were both well taken.
Luke Rodgers scored the first capitalising on some miscommunication and uncertainty in the AFC Wimbledon defence to slot the ball home after a good through ball by Harley. Rodgers is a player who will clearly be able to do a job in League One.
The second Pompey goal was scored by trialist Walker, whose shot from the edge of the penalty area curled in to the net. It was an excellent goal that would have graced any pitch.
Pompey benefited greatly from the experience of Harley, Lawrence and Howard in the midfield.
Thompson in the centre of defence caught the eye and looks solid at this level. He could be forgiven his occasional forrays forward with the ball which were not always productive. Defensively he looks a strong and sound centre back.
Down the right hand side, the stand out player was Dumbuya. He is a lively character who gave Pompey an extra attacking option.
Adam Webster, another Pompey youngster who had made a few appearances in the first team last season came on for a cameo during the last 10-15 minutes and did well. He'll need to go the Joel Ward School of Body Building at some point but he looks a very good prospect.
The pantomime villain Tal Ben Haim received some stick from the travelling Pompey fans but even that waned after a while. To his credit he just got on with the job he was asked to do and nobody can fault him for that.
The non-appearance of Sam Magri, who kept the bench warm all evening with Jed Wallace, was a bit of a mystery, maybe there's something else going on there? Remember it was only a few months ago he was trialing at Liverpool. Hopefully, he'll have a long career ahead of him at Pompey and there's nothing to read in to his absence. We shall see.
All in all a job well done and a satisfying evening especially the way Pompey held out in the second half to an AFC Wimbledon side that had been gee'd up at half time and put in a much stronger performance than they did in the first.
Michael Appleton has gathered together a very good group of trialists, let's hope it's not too long before he can start to sign some of them up and begin the rebuild of the Pompey squad.
FT: AFC Wimbledon 0-2 Portsmouth
Match Action Pictures
Portsmouth team versus AFC Wimbledon: Morris (replaced by Eastwood in the 46th minute); Dumbuya (replaced by Webster in the 80th minute), J.Thompson, Ben Haim, Harley; Walker, Lawrence (c) (replaced by Compton in the 68th minute), Howard, Harris (replaced by Clifford in the 46th minute); McLeod, Rodgers (replaced by Djilali in the 68th minute). Substitutes Not Used: Magri and Wallace
Attendance: 1,557 [over half the fans in the ground were from Pompey].
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