We kept our first cleansheet of the season yesterday, although the fact that we were unable to break down Ipswich – or more to the point beat Marton Fulop, who made some quality saves – meant that we had to ‘settle’ for a 0-0 draw, although it was a game I completely enjoyed and in all honesty thing a draw was a ‘fair’ result.
Although Steve Cotterill, who praised the performance and admitted that Ipswich had some chances, disagreed as he felt we deserved the win: ‘we played very well for a team at the bottom of the league. We gave our all and there was some real decent performances out there.
‘I think we deserved to win the game in the end and on another day the chances from Dave Kitson would have gone in.
‘They had their chances but I still think we deserved to win in the end.
‘I don’t think it was a fair result I think we deserved a lot more than the point we got.’
He could not fault the performances at all and offered full praise to everyone one of his ‘special bunch’ for the ‘character and heart’ shown and knows the first league win will come soon enough: ‘the players have trained really hard over the last week and I think that it showed with some of the performances out there.
‘They gave their all and that is all I can ask at the end of the day.
‘They are a special bunch with a lot of character and heart and I think that it is only a matter of time before we get our first three points.’
As said, all in all I think that a draw was a fair enough result, but I do think this is a good point as lets face it we are bottom of the league facing a side that could have gone top with a win!
I do not care if we lose every week, well of course I care, but so long as we give everything and look like a side that DOES want to play for the famous shirt and give everything, as everyone did, what more can any of us ask?
It has been a while since I ‘really’ enjoyed a game, and that is not because we have not been winning, it was the manor in which we were playing so I have to admit it had left me somewhat questioning slightly ‘why’ I bother with all the hundreds of miles I put in, and many hours of time travelling – not forgetting the costs, but if we get more of what we saw on Saturday and less of what we saw against Preston and Cardiff I will be delighted!
More of the same of this against Palace on Tuesday night and we will come back from London with another point, at least – bring on the Palace!
Let us know what you think of Cotterill’s, and my own thoughts, with your comments below…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
