Did you go mate, any chance of one of your quality match reviews, anyone else who went feel free to comment!
We were sh1te, Pompey out played us for 89mins. Have not played that bad for at least 4-5 weeks. They say it is a sign of a good team who can win when you play poorly, well we were very poor tonight but we won.! With a better performance and a bit of luck we could be 2nd by 5pm Saturday......
We seemed very nervous and our first touch was very bad. I honestly dont see why because I didnt feel Pompey had a lot to offer. They have decent players but at no stage were we under any serious danger yet our play was very disjointed. A potential problem with our starting line up is going to be how we build from our own goal kicks. None of our front 6 are massive and we lost nearly every first ball. Jewell changed this with first Ellington and then JET coming on. Ellington had a poor first 5 minutes with bad touch after bad touch but soon found some fluency to his play other than the ref who decided to blow on every 50/50 he was involved in. I feel JET needs a damn good kick up the arse. I'm not sure if its his gangly style but he always looked lazy and only half interested. There were a number of loose balls I felt certain he should have won only for him to end the chase nowhere near it. Losing Sonko was possibly the biggest the biggest news on the night. Hopefully he wont be out for long. He is a proper centre half, who clears when it needs to be cleared but always seems under control. A nice calm influence at the back and he gives me a confidence that Delaney simply does not do. Ive touched on it already but the ref really does need another mention. Football currently allows contact and with a 50/50 there will always be a winner and a loser but it doesnt mean anything dodgy has taken place so let the play continue. If they are late or illegal then fine, blow up, but if not dont blow your whistle
I predicted that Jewell would sort things out.A little while back I thought the local Derby would be renewed next season in The Championship but now it's looking more like it may be in The Premiership?
I agree with Tractorboy on the referee. He was simply shocking! Every 50/50 he blew. On the game yes we were well below par but the simple fact remains that we showed character and determination and the boys pulled it out of the fire. I would rather be on here commenting on this result than coming on here like last year saying that we played well but lost! Anyone at the Pompey game last year like I was will tell you that we absolutely played them off the park but lost to a smash and grab. I am encouraged that we have finally got a team that can grind it out when needed!
JWM - sign of a good team is meant to one that can win when not playing their best - sounds promising doesnt it mate!
Absolutely How many times in the past would Ipswich have folded? We can't moan about last night, I think the boys showed all the qualities that are needed to do well in this league!
keep on grinding out some results and mixing it with some damned fine play, you wont have to do well in that league. You may well be out of it
Portsmouth had obviously done their homework and exposed the weakness of us having such a narrow midfield.They closed down very quickly and Bullard in particular suffered from the lack of time/space and gave away possession in dangerous positions twice in the first half which almost led to us conceding. Sonko and Collins weren't as dominant as recently and I'm concerned with Delany as the only fit back up(I think we can discount Smith)Kitson in particular was a handful. Still we managed to keep them at bay and the goal was quite well worked. An "ugly" win but welcome nonetheless!Onwards and upwards!!
I'm pleased with the win a tbh I thought it was about time we had one of these displays, as we've been playing very well recently although the bonus of this is that I thought it would also come with a loss, so to win is great!! Agree with all the comments above, just seems like we had an off night but I think you can expect these every once in a while as long as we can dig in for them, at least we are trying to play decent football but last night was just one of those games. I can take playing like that more than the past couple of years because not every game is like that!! JWM I can't remember many games over the past couple of years were we've said we've played well but lost, not under Keane anyway, its nice to see that these rubbish games a getting less and less and more intermintant rather than the norm. Again last night I think was highlighted about what I said in the Cardiff game that Bullard is a bit of a liability in the defensive midfield role, he needs to be played higher up the pitch, so we can make the most of his invention rather than him trying to overdo it from the DM role and give the ball away, he's also not great without the ball. The best player to swap him with is Andrews, although this does present a problem that he is a big goal threat. Perhaps we need to get a decent DM to allow Bullard and Andrews to push up more. Or perhaps play 442 with Andrews and Bullard in the middle taken it ib turns on attacking and defending, much like how Magilton and Holland used to do, where neither was to attack or defense minded. For me Bullard and Andrews have to both be in the team but Bullard should not play the DM role, it takes to much away from him and exposes his weaknesses.
From what I heard on the commentary I have to agree with Bigal. Portsmouth tried to use our narrow midfield to their advantage and utilised the wings very well. This is something we will need to be careful of. Some teams may try to match us up with the diamond system but I think the ones who will cause us the most problems are the teams who will play 4-4-2 against us and attack down the sides. Like many have said, it bodes well that we can have an off day and still come away with three points.
