Portsmouth

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

Image source, Rex Features

Blaming officials can appear an easy way out after a defeat but it's understandable quite why Portsmouth were so angry with the penalty awarded in the second half.

The challenge by Freddie Potts was clearly outside the box and referee Geoff Eltringham needed a discussion with his assistant before awarding it.

The assistant simply didn't have the view to see it clearly.

Up until that point Pompey had successfully frustrated Watford and had the lead thanks to Zak Swanson's fine finish.

A huge amount of mental and physical energy are required for a performance like that.

To have come away with nothing will hurt.

The challenge now is for Pompey to pick themselves up again at Bristol City on Sunday (15:00 GMT).

On Boxing Day, Watford host a Portsmouth side that are fresh off the back of a morale-boosting 4-1 victory over Coventry City.

The Hornets sit in the Championship's top eight with 34 points and are just one point off Middlesbrough in sixth.

Pompey have spent large parts of the season in the bottom three but have recently found some good form at home that has lifted them above the dotted line and they currently sit 20th.

• Watford have won their last three home league games against Portsmouth, although this is their first meeting since a 2-0 win back in November 2011.

• The last six league meetings between Watford and Portsmouth have all been won by the home side.

• Watford have lost each of their last two league matches on Boxing Day, last suffering three straight defeats on this date between 1956 and 1958.

• In the second tier, Portsmouth are winless in their last seven games on Boxing Day (D4 L3) since a 3-1 win over QPR in 1997.

• Watford have won both previous Boxing Day meetings with Portsmouth, beating them 1-0 in 1988 under Steve Harrison and 2-0 in 1994 under Glenn Roeder.

Football commentator and Pompey fan Ian Darke joins Chris Wise and Andy Moon to look back on Portsmouth's win over Coventry City and ahead to the festive fixtures.

Ian tells the story of the match when a Pompey player bettered Callum Lang's heroics at the weekend.

Plus there's all your questions answered in Moon's Musings.

Search "Portsmouth" on the BBC Sounds App or click the link above to listen.

Tom Chappell
Fan writer from Fournilwrittenalloverit

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Rex Features

Callum Lang's present to the Pompey faithful was a four-goal, gift-wrapped, 10/10 display on Saturday afternoon.

The Scouser almost doubled his goal tally for the season and has been widely credited by the fanbase to be the top performer in a Portsmouth shirt this season.

He possesses all the industry and dynamic determination that Pompey fans fall in love with so quickly, and is a man who throughout his time at the club thus far has performed as if he truly feels the weight of the shirt he wears.

He won't be the Christmas number one in terms of goals in the Championship, but is rapidly becoming a noticeable talent in the second tier.

Significantly, Lang as a set-piece threat is not what we would usually associate with his game, so it came as a welcome surprise as he rose highest to meet Freddie Potts' delivery for his fourth goal.

As a team more broadly, Pompey are beginning to frequent Fratton Park with a spring in our step.

For me there's no coincidence that Matt Ritchie's return to consistent starts in this Pompey team correlates positively with an uptick in performances and results - a handful of games aside - since our trip to Humberside on the first weekend of November.

He has an almost possessive can-do, homegrown attitude in everything he does on the pitch, and one would imagine off the pitch, in terms of driving the standards around the training ground day to day.

Andre Dozzell passed the Coventry midfielders off the pitch, Ryley Towler stepped up stoically after 11 consecutive games warming the bench and Zak Swanson locked down Coventry's in-form Ephron Mason-Clark admirably after the 10-minute opening scare.

The last man deserving of an almighty mention is the ever-dependable Nicolas Schmid.

There is no doubting his one-on-one heroism with Norman Bassette at 0-1 was a determining factor in the outcome of the game.

Schmid's foundations paved the way for Lang's brilliance. Festive joy at Fratton means it will be a Happy Christmas for Pompey fans all over the world.

Hear more from Tom and Fournilwrittenalloverit by clicking here, external

Image source, Rex Features

Striker Callum Lang says being singled out by his manager as Portsmouth's best player this season will not go to his head.

The Liverpudlian scored all four as John Mousinho's side beat Coventry City 4-1 and after his manager's accolade.

Mousinho said Lang has been Pompey's "outstanding" player this season after the win.

"If your manager is saying that you're obviously doing something right but I don't want to get carried away. It's a long season so the most important thing is that we stay in the division.

"It's probably the highlight of my career. As a player you never want to come off the pitch but when my number came up on the board it was a really nice feeling, something like I've never had before.

"Over the last four or five weeks we've looked like a completely different side. Everyone has spoken about the tough start and we had a blip after the Stoke game but now is the time we've turned up.

"We've got to go to Watford and put in a performance. We've been really solid at home the last few weeks and now it's about doing it away from home."

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho was full of praise for striker Callum Lang, who scored all four goals in their 4-1 win over Coventry.

"Since Callum has come to the football club he has scored some big goals and he has been our outstanding player this season," Mousinho said.

"The energy he puts in, the amount of running he does, his physical presence and it is about adding quality for him - today he added the quality and was superb.

"My only disappointment is that he didn't score more. It was really pleasing and he should be pushing for more and more.

"He put himself in the right positions and when he got the chances he finished them."

Mousinho said it was a "fantastic result and performance, especially the second half".

"I'm really pleased that with that adversity in the first half going a goal down and almost going two down we grew back into the game," he added.

"We were worth the win and probably worth a couple more goals. It was a comprehensive second half performance and I'm delighted with the three points."

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

Image source, Rex Features

Callum Lang will rightly get the plaudits for a stunning display but John Mousinho has been calling for his side to "dig in" and find a way to stay in matches - and the victory would not have been possible had Pompey folded after conceding inside the opening three minutes.

Defensively they looked all over the shop in the first quarter of the match but Nicolas Schmid made a string of fine saves, most notably when Norman Bassette was clean through.

That paved the way for Lang's heroics.

The second half was the most dominant half Pompey have produced all season.

Although that was likely as much down to Coventry's capitulation as Pompey's impressive showing.

Image source, Rex Features

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard is looking forward to making his first visit as a manager to "old fashioned" Fratton Park - after so many enjoyable past trips as a player.

"It's a great football stadium," Lampard told BBC CWR, ahead of Saturday's lunchtime kick-off between Portsmouth and the Sky Blues.

"One of the old ones that has that bit of character about it. I played there a few times. And you always felt the atmosphere of the stadium.

"It's an old-fashioned stadium - but it's nice to have a few of those still around.

"That's part of the game when you go to these stadiums. The players understanding that, if you give their fans what they want, they'll be active and affect the game.

"I felt that as a player and that's on us to try to take that away from them."

It is something Lampard did very successfully in his Chelsea days.

In six separate visits, he was on the winning side each time - and scored three goals.

Chelsea did not concede a goal in any of them. And, for three of those six wins, Frank's Uncle Harry Redknapp was the home manager.

No such family ties exist this time round. But, after two victories in his first four games as Sky Blues boss, he'd clearly love to keep up that winning Fratton Park record.

Image source, Rex Features

Former Premier League defender Curtis Davies believes that Portsmouth will need to make valuable additions to their squad in January if they are to remain in the Championship.

On the latest episode of BBC Radio Solent's 'Who Needs Mourinho?' podcast, Davies claims that there are enough teams in the relegation battle for Pompey to survive but concerns will creep in if mid-season recruitment is not up to scratch.

"I'd be worried if I'm a Portsmouth fan and come January, there's not reinforcements," Davies said.

"I'm not talking about big wholesale, Championship or lower Premier League names coming into the football club - but people that can effect this squad.

"It's not about getting a young lad from Manchester United because he's from Manchester United but someone who is ready to come in and play."

Defence is an area boss John Mousinho may want to look at given that his side have conceded the third most goals in the Championship this season.

However, Davies thinks that finding a defender capable of living up to the standards required in the second tier is like finding a "unicorn".

"I spoke to John when I was working with him and he said 'ultimately, we all want a Virgil van Dijk but we need a B-Tech Van Dijk that will hopefully become good enough'.

"To be dominant in the Championship is important, yes, but you need to be mobile and you need to be quick. You need be good on the ball because of the way John wants to play.

"But finding them all in one is really difficult."

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Portsmouth will seek to climb out of the bottom three and haul Coventry closer to danger when the Sky Blues visit Fratton Park on Saturday lunchtime.

Seven places separate the sides before kick-off but a win for Pompey would take them within four points of Frank Lampard's side, having played two fewer games.

• Portsmouth have lost just one of their past six league games against Coventry City (W3 D2), though their sole defeat did come in their last meeting in February 2020 (1-0).

• Coventry City have failed to win any of their past four away league games against Portsmouth (W3 D1), conceding 2+ goals in each of those matches.

• Portsmouth have won just two of their nine home league games this season (D4 L3), scoring just nine goals in total across those matches – only West Brom have netted fewer (8).

• Coventry have won just two of their past 14 away league games (D5 L7), failing to score in seven of those matches.

• Ephron Mason-Clark has scored three goals in his past four Championship games, also registering an assist – in his first 14 games this season, he had failed to score and only assisted one goal.

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho is hoping some extra time to prepare for Saturday's Championship match at home to Coventry City will benefit his side.

Pompey played three games in six days last week, culminating in a 4-0 hammering at Derby County on Friday, but have had the benefit of a full training week to address what went wrong at Pride Park.

That heavy defeat ended a run of four unbeaten to restore some optimism around Fratton Park but Mousinho isn't overreacting to what unfolded.

"After a defeat you are always looking to play a game as quickly as possible but there are benefits in having some time off and time on the training pitch as well," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"Maybe one of the things that undid us at the end of last week was we didn't have any time on the training ground - we didn't have a lot of time to prep for the Derby game and that's something we have to address and be better at.

"We don't want to brush anything under the carpet but some of the issues on Friday have not been part of our game over the last six weeks - it was a bit of a surprise. We do have to address it but don't have to do anything drastic."

Pompey are currently third from bottom in the table but only one point from safety.

Tom Chappell
Fan writer from Fournilwrittenalloverit

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Rex Features

Take nothing away from the professionalism of Paul Warne's Derby County side but it didn't feel like they had to move out of second or third gear for Pompey to be well beaten on Friday night.

It was bitterly disappointing considering the marginal league standings differential between the teams before a ball was kicked.

I can't remember watching us play any 'football' for the entirety of the evening.

Unfortunately, that was the third away-from-home evening game this season where this has been the case.

Bizarrely and perhaps frustratingly, I don't feel Pompey have a lack of ability.

It's a talented group and albeit light in depth - both in terms of 'flair' players and quality - it's a group that has proven it is capable of winning games with interest against established sides at this level.

But if we don't turn up, it is an absolutely woeful watch.

If Pompey plan to stay in the Championship, we have already seen far too many evenings putting immense pressure on us to achieve survival.

Hot-and-cold Portsmouth will not achieve status in this division next season, nor will playing out of our skins every match to try to stand a chance.

The Pompey eco-system has been dominated in large part this season by a nervousness, a fragility and a naivety.

These were characteristics I felt we'd lifted ourselves out of somewhat in the last week or so.

But we were reminded rather emphatically on Friday night that evidently we haven't.

Find out more from Tom and Fournilwrittenalloverit by clicking here, external

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

Image source, Rex Features

No one thought Portsmouth had cracked the Championship based on their impressive recent run but the hope was dreadful evenings like those at Stoke and Cardiff were a thing of the past.

Not so, Derby had too much pace and power for Portsmouth in a calamitous first 30 minutes.

Suffering a heavy defeat on the road would be disappointing anywhere but it is particularly so against a team who started the day only four points above the Blues.

Last night has reminded everyone that if Pompey aren't quite on song at this level, they are in danger of a hammering.

Image source, Rex Features

Got a spare half-hour to fill or need something to listen to in the car up to Pride Park ahead of the Friday night game between Derby and Portsmouth?

The latest instalment of BBC Radio Solent's Who Needs Mourinho? podcast is released today, looking back at four points from two top-half teams and a strong week for Pompey - but can they follow it up against the Rams in a big game in the lower reaches of the Championship table?

Guy Whittingham joins Andrew Moon and Chris Wise to discuss the impact of Colby Bishop, what it means to be out of the bottom three and why a makeshift backline isn't looking so temporary any more.

Click here to listen to the Who Needs Mourinho? podcast on BBC Sounds

Derby County welcome Portsmouth to Pride Park on Friday evening for an important clash in the battle to avoid relegation.

The Rams are without a win in six (D3 L3) and are currently 17th in the Championship, four points above the drop zone, following a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Burnley on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Pompey are in much-improved form with two wins and two draws in their past four matches, which has lifted them out of the bottom three on goal difference.

• Derby County are unbeaten across their past eight league games against Portsmouth (W3 D5), with each of the previous four encounters ending in a draw.

• Portsmouth have failed to win any of their past five away league games against Derby (D3 L2), since a 2-1 victory at Pride Park in November 2002.

• Derby are winless in their past four home league games (D2 L2) and could lose three in a row on home soil for the first time since October 2020 (run of five).

• Portsmouth have already conceded 20 goals in their first nine away league games this season (W1 D4 L4); Pompey last conceded more than 20 goals in their first 10 away league games of a season in 1999-00 in the second tier (24).

• Derby have won each of their past four home league games played on Fridays, while Portsmouth are unbeaten in their past eight away Friday league games (W3 D5).