Well a point is a point, and when you are Pompey a point is gold-dust this season, but the game was as dire as could be, and really a match Pompey should of claimed all 3 from.
Pompey made the one enforced change as predicted, O’Hara stepped back in for the absent Brown, but most baffling was his position, he was sat in front of the back 4 with Mokoena in a more advanced position.
In the very first minute, Smith almost got us off to a flyer, he got in behind Zayatte but dragged his shot wide, no-one knew, but this was as good as it was to get in the first half.
Writing this report, I feel like a news reporter who has to fill in when a video clip goes down, nothing happened of note!
There were a couple of squirted efforts at goal, Mokoena making Papa Diop look positively acurate with one shot miles over, for Hull, Geovanni clipped a free-kick over the bar and Hunt found only James with another effort, it was really as good as that.
Phil Thompson summed it up perfectly on SkySports, he claimed ‘The referee should pull all 22 players together in the centre circle and tell them ‘this is not good enough, this is the Premiership, start playing football”, wise words indeed.
For the second half Pompey marginally improved, Dindane fired in a shot which Myhill did really well to block out, and his follow up cannoned off of Kaboul, Yebda then showed his threat by connecting with Boateng’s cross, but Myhill again blocked out well, another goalie was earning the MOM stakes against us once more.
So that was it, Pompey were up to 4 points from a possible 30, I said in my preview that not to get anything would be fatal, but all 3 points really were there for a side who were really below par up against a side even more so.
Player Ratings
James
Had harder days.
Finnan
Looking solid
Ben Haim
No Lennon to face this time.
Kaboul
Might not have the armband, but looks like the captain out there.
Wilson
Not stretched.
Mokoena
Not a fans favourite, and easy to see why, gives his all, but he is a very blunt Axe.
O’Hara
Sat in front of the back 4 when we needed him further forward.
Boateng
Not up to his usual high standards, but easily better than most out there.
Smith
Seems to be Hart’s 70 minute man, had our best chance early on.
Dindane
Needs a goal, but then so do all the strikers.
Yebda
Looks like a goalscoring midfielder, quite handy when the strikers can’t!
Catch up
Pompey are still on the coat-tails of the other strugglers, but draws won’t be enough against the likes of Hull, if it were cricket, Pompey would need to start scoring in boundaries soon.