Match Reports

Winter blues go on

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I’ll tell you something, if I stop writing match reports, I may just well become an obituary writer, I’m sure its in the same vein, depressing, yet inevitable.

To cut a long story short, Pompey travelled to the upwardly mobile Brighton along the coast, we lost 3-1, had another sent off and picked up 7 yellow cards. That is the story of the day in a nutshell, but just what has transformed Pompey from an ambitiously looking side on the cusp of the play-offs to a downtrodden outfit with ill discipline?

A couple of issues are of course Hughes and Brown, their abscence has both weakened the side in midfield and highlighted just how dire Pompey’s financial side still is.
Going’s on behind the scences are still influencing outcomes on it more than the players and management, Cotterill had one hand tied at the start of the season, now he probably feels like the Black Knight after meeting Arthur in ‘The life of Brian’.

Reading between the lines, pompey are preparing for a long old stint in the lower leagues again, if we were hoping to bounce back up to the top flight quickly, we would never have moved the ticket office back to Frogmore rd, finances needed reigning in for sure, but we are definitely cutting costs left right and centre, I feel there is no long term plan in place other than sitting where we are, we may be out of life support, but the coma is going to take a while to shift.

On the field the game was over after 15 minutes, by the Kitson had walked after alledgedly lashing out, unless someone recorded it on their phone we will never know what truly happened, the ITV cameras where asleep at the time, but Kitson now has a 3 match ban to look forward, we can ill afford that, but that is football now, Kitson reckons he pushed the bloke in the chest, but down went El-Abd, as is the modern game he managed to stay down long enough for the red card to come out and then play 90 minutes, must of hurt that elbow.

Pompey were behind within another 10 minutes, Wood smashing home after another corner was not properly cleared. Barnes clipped the bar shortly after, and then it was the Jamie Ashdown show once more, for all those football experts who phoned ‘Express FM’ last week, try watching the man play, it will prove just how idiotic some of the critics were about him.

As half-time approached and Pompey were clinging on, crowd favourite and defensive lynch-pin Sonko played basketball and Pompey had conceded yet another penalty, the penalty was conceded in the middle of 5 yellow cards for dissent for Pompey, lessons obviously not being learnt on that front.

Second half it was all Pompey could do to hang on, Barnes almost scored from 20 yards, while the seagulls dominated possession, Pompey did get one silver lining in Tom Kilbey scoring his first senior goal, slotting home after a scramble, this should of set up an Alamo siege, but in true Pompey style Sandazza just waltzed up the other end to kill the game.

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