Pompey caused what I guess will go down as a ‘shock’ by beating Arsenal 2-0 at Underhill on Monday evening as the Gunners lost for the fist time this season.
Below is the match report from The Pompey Site…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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Arsenal 0 Pompey Reserves 2
Goals from Tom Kilbey and Eugen Bopp saw Pompey bag an impressive victory against their Arsenal counterparts at Underhill.
Kilbey’s first-half header and Bopp’s second-half drive saw the Blues inflict a first defeat of the season on the Gunners’ talented young side.
Pompey created the game’s opening chance on five minutes but Gianfranco Apicerni fired straight into the arms of Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny.
The Gunners responded with an opportunity of their own 10 minutes later when Gilles Sunu fired wide.
There was little to choose between the sides in a half of few chances. However, Pompey took their best opportunity on 18 minutes.
Bopp sent a perfectly-flighted free-kick into the box where KILBEY had arrived to deftly head home.
Pompey created little after that and might have expected Arsenal to increase their efforts and put the Blues’ goal under pressure.
But Antti Niemi was largely redundant and his defenders were untroubled throughout the first half.
The nearest Arsenal came to getting back on level terms came just before the break when Sunu put the ball into the net after Niemi had parried Sanchez Watt’s shot, but the referee had long since blown for offside.
Half Time: Arsenal 0 Pompey 1
The hosts pressed forward at the start of the second half but they were still creating nothing in the final third.
Instead it was Pompey who came closest to scoring when Kilbey was sent through on goal by Paris Cowan-Hall, only to see his shot deflected wide.
Niemi was finally called into action on 62 minutes but Sunu’s strike was straight at him and the Finnish keeper comfortably gathered the ball.
A lunging Watt then just failed to connect with Kerrea Gilbert’s cross as the Gunners started to create some momentum.
But Pompey secured all three points on 76 minutes after Mark Randall had been dispossessed in the middle of the park.
That allowed Cowan-Hall to fire in a shot and although his effort was saved, BOPP was following up to drive the ball home.
The visitors still had to be alert, though, and Niemi did well to keep put Francis Coquelin’s close-range effort after the midfielder had met Roarie Deacon’s corner.
And Lennard Sowah had to clear off the line as Arsenal tried one last time to salvage something from the match.
Pompey: Niemi; Hurst, Williamson, Wilkinson, Sowah; Bopp, Pack, Nlundulu (du Chattelier 72), Apicerni; Kilbey, Cowan-Hall
Subs not used: T.Smith, Ryan, Cuvelier, Walshe
Arsenal: Szczesny; Gilbert, Bartley, Miquel, Evina; Randall, Eastmond (Deacon 70), Coquelin, Frimpong (Murphy 70); Sunu, Watt (Freeman 77)
Subs not used: Henderson, Yennaris
Referee: D. Ford
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