Portsmouth 1 - 0 Reading

I thought that, for those who were unable to attend the game, I would post a summary of the team's performance yesterday evening.

First of all, I would like to say that we truly deserved the win. Although only winning by a single goal, we played well throughout and thoroughly earned the three points. Compared to the Brighton game, you could be forgiven for thinking that you had watched a completely different team of Portsmouth players; the change in performance was remarkable.

It is easy to feel overconfident after a win, in the same way that it is easy to become overly pessimistic after defeat, but the players worked well as a team and showed glimpses of what they are capable of. Every player upped their game and put in a much improved shift.


Ashdown - Made a couple of fantastic saves, including a point blank effort that kept the score at 1-0. He also claimed a number of dangerous crosses well.

Mokoena - Had some questionable moments at the beginning of the game but, in fairness to him, I felt he did begin to improve as the game went on.

Halford - Much more the man we remember from last season, he looked confident.

Pearce - An absolutely outstanding debut and a player that is clearly proud to wear the shirt. He kept Reading's strikers at bay all evening with his close marking and blocked shots. Man of the match for me.

Ben Haim - Again, another good performer last night. He seems to be fitting in well at left back.

Lawrence - Still looking a little unfit; he seems to be lacking a yard of pace at the moment, but his influence and passion was still evident. A good leader last night.

Mullins - His usual self, clearing up everything and on a couple of occasions covering the defence superbly when Reading broke away.

Norris - Has impressed me so far and seems to be similar to Mullins in many ways; a guy who quietly goes about his business, working hard and breaking up the play then getting forward on the break. A solid game.

Varney - A constant thorn in the Reading defence, his pace was causing them a number of problems down the left and did well in providing support for Kitson. Ran his socks off. Also won an unprecedented number of headers against taller opposition in and around the Reading goal.

Kitson - Started a little slowly but his confidence clearly leapt after the goal. Perhaps should have done better when one-on-one in the first half, but you can't win them all.

Kanu - Played the usual 'magician's' role behind Kitson, unlocking the defence with the sort of passes that only he is capable of seeing. Classy.


Substitutes:

Ward - Did well defensively when he came on, I feel that a little more rotation is going to help his development, rather than being forced to play him every week.

Benjani - The welcome he received was unrivalled and he clearly appreciated the support. Held the ball up well on a couple of occasions and cleverly spotted a run from Varney who was denied by the post.



All in all a fantastic performance by the team and one which was much needed following our previous results. In truth, Reading were not at their best, but that is not to take anything away from our display. Hopefully this will breathe some much-needed confidence through the squad and, with a couple more additions, we have every reason to be optimistic about the season ahead.

 

I listened to the game on BBC Berkshire. They kept describing the game as pulsating - I could also hear our lot in the stands, loud or what?

(They weren't impressed with Cotts taking his chewing gum out of his mouth and throwing it at the Ref though).

I hate it when I can't be there and have to hear it second hand.

 

Wouldn't disagree with anything you say. Highlights for me were Kanu (not just his class but his energy - where's that come from) and Pearce, who had an excellent debut. Kitson looked like a different player once he had scored and Benji's cameo cheered us all up.

 

Benji looked good even in his cameo, i think he will be a real asset to us this season if he stays fit.
And now if Huseklepp passes his medical we're starting to look pretty decent in attack!!

 

3rd eye - it's never the same is it? Having said that, pulsating is probably a good description for periods of last night's game. I must have missed the chewing gum incident, I dont think it was seen by many...?

LFIH - Spot on. I am usually one to argue that Kanu is only good for half an hour, but last night I was proved wrong.

1898 - Agreed, hopefully Huseklepp will give us that extra pace and width that we need. I think that was the biggest difference last night, players were told to stay wide, and it paid dividends.

 

The stats on the BBC looked quite encouraging I must say.

 

These match reports and comment on the players are much appreciated by those of us that cannot be there.

 

Glad to hear it - I'll make an effort to do the same again in future (when time permits me to do so!)

 

Ditto pompeydownunder's comment

 

We should have had a pen for handball and our goal wasn't offside ... if it wasn't for a **** ref we would have won

 

There's always one.

 

Once upon a time in English league football there was no referee. The captains would make all the decisions and send off a player from their own side if deemed they had acted in an unsportsmanlike manner. Those were the days.