Aren’t they all? Dismal defeats that is. However, some defeats are worse than others and Saturday’s Fratton Park display from Pompey in Blackpool’s victory was as bad as many will recall in a while.
Fortunately I was spared the suffering as I couldn’t make the game at the weekend, but was phoned shortly after to tell me how poor it was and how lucky I was to have dodged a bullet as it quite literally would have been a waste of time and money.
We had chances, some decent ones in fact, but failure to take them, coupled with costly defensive mistakes once again, were enough to see Blackpool leave the South Coast with the points.
Christian Burgess’ error, when caught in possession, allowed Kyle Vassell in and he made the most of the opportunity to give the visitors a half time lead.
If that individual mistake was bad enough a collective one – defensively – saw Clark Robertson given the freedom and space of the penalty area to head past Luke McGee and to confirm yet another Blues defeat.
Kenny Jackett knows there wasn’t enough of a threat going forward and we made it too easy for Blackpool at the back.
He told portsmouthfc.co.uk: ‘We had a lot of the ball without doing anything with it. It was tough for us. There were a couple of decent crosses from Jamal Lowe and Oli Hawkins looked dangerous in the box before his injury. But it was pretty easy for Blackpool to keep their shape and be constructive enough to close us down, making it difficult for us going forward.’
Yes, Blackpool might have ‘put pressure on us with their pace and power’ but we made it easier for them.
Jackett added: ‘Going down their end is one thing, but we were making the wrong decisions when we got there, allowing them to keep us out. Ultimately, they made fewer mistakes than us. We didn’t create enough and couldn`t find a tempo to our play.’
Momentum isn’t something we have been able to build up this season but, as much as it isn’t the consistency we would have wanted, you cannot really say Pompey haven’t been consistent as we quite literally win or lose.
He said: ‘After a very good win at Fleetwood on Tuesday night we needed to build some momentum, but the players still need to keep their heads up.’
PLAY UP POMPEY
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2017-18 Prediction League – March
Bradford (a) Saturday 3rd March 2018 – click here.
Gillingham (h) Saturday 10th March 2018 – click here.
Oldham (a) Saturday 17th March 2018 – click here.
Oxford (h) Sunday 25th March 2018 – click here.
Walsall (a) Saturday 31st March 2018 – click here.
