A lot has changed since Pompey were originally supposed to make the long trip to Oakwell. The contest was postponed in September following the sad death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and will finally take place this evening (7.45pm kick-off). Six months ago, the Blues were second in the table following an unbeaten start to the season, with the Tykes in 10th. That position is now occupied by the south coast side, however, and they have a different man in charge. But John Mousinho has overseen an upturn in form and Pompey head to South Yorkshire in the hunt for a fourth successive victory. It is sure to be a difficult test against Michael Duff’s men, who are sixth in the standings and have opened up a six-point gap on Wycombe in seventh. And with at least one game in hand on all the sides around them, the Reds look well placed to at least claim a play-off spot. That would be most welcome after a 2021/22 campaign that saw them finish rock bottom of the Championship. This is the second meeting between the teams in just over a month, with a late Liam Kitching goal cancelling out Colby Bishop’s effort at Fratton Park. The most recent Oakwell contest also finished 1-1, as Gareth Evans found the target for Pompey back in December 2018. TEAM NEWS Ronan Curtis will miss the rest of the season after suffering an ACL injury, with Jayden Reid (knee) the other long-term absentee. Marlon Pack (knee), Clark Robertson (hip) and Zak Swanson (groin) are all still missing, while the game could come too soon for Jay Mingi (knee). Matty Wolfe (knee) is sidelined for Barnsley, who also have doubts over keeper Brad Collins (quad), but Luca Connell should be available after recovering from illness. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 22 wins Barnsley: 18 wins 15 draws On the road Pompey: 7 wins Barnsley: 13 wins 7 draws TICKETS Pompey fans will be able to purchase tickets from the Barnsley ticket office this evening. Click here for a guide to visiting Oakwell that has been produced by the home club. OFFICIALS Referee: Marc Edwards Assistants: Hristo Karaivanov and Richard Woodward Fourth Official: Steven Rushton MATCH COVERAGE Supporters at home and abroad can watch the contest live by purchasing an iFollow match pass and visiting the match centre. Domestic iFollow subscribers can enjoy audio commentary from Andrew Moon and Guy Whittingham as usual, but will need to purchase a match pass if they want to watch the game. Click here for more information about using iFollow on a matchday and click here for information on downloading the app, so you can access content on your mobile device. We will have updates throughout the game on Twitter and the match centre. You can also see behind-the-scenes content on our Instagram story. There will be post-match reaction on the website and our official YouTube channel, with highlights to follow on Wednesday. Local listeners can hear commentary by tuning in to either Express FM or BBC Radio Solent (not available online).
2-0 to Barnsley at half time. Deserved lead for them. We haven't got into our game yet. They took the lead in the 17th minute with a goal from Norwood, following a mistake by Joe Morrell. Three minutes later in the 20th minute the home team were two up, with a lovely goal from Nicky Cadden. A yellow card was shown to Luke Kitching in the 37th minute for a nasty foul on Owen Dale.
Half Time Match Stats:- Home Team: Barnsley ...........Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 41% Away 59% Shots: Home13 Away 3 Shots on Target: Home 5 Away 0 Corners: Home 4 Away 0 Fouls: Home 6 Away 1
Final whistle. 3-1 to Barnsley. They deserved the win. We pulled a goal back just after half time in the 49th minutes with a lovely header from Colby Bishop for his 20th goal of the season, from a superb Joe Rafferty cross. In the 60th minute Barnsley scored again through Devante Cole (son of Andy Cole - a former Pompey loanee). That remained the score. We used four subs, being Michael Jacobs for Tom Lowery in the 58th minute, and then a triple change in the 75th minute with Louis Thompson replacing Ryan Tunnicliffe, Paddy Lane for Owen Dale, and Joe Pigott for Dane Scarlett.
Final Match Stats:- Home Team: Barnsley .......Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 39% Away 61% Shots: Home 18 Away 6 Shots on Target: Home 7 Away 3 Corners: Home 4 Away 2 Fouls: Home 11 Away 6
Obviously, the result was disappointing - but not entirely unexpected - Barnsley are clearly a good and in form team. The disappointing feature of the last two games has been the failure to create chances. The possession stats above are revealing. The high possession % is good defensively but the downside is that becomes harder to create chances on the break. Our mid field seems to have improved since the Cowleys departed, primarily i believe because we are playing three in that roll rather than two which makes us much more competitive in that area of the game. Also Mousinho has reaped the benefit of Thomson and Lowery returning from injury. Tunicliffe has been a revelation. When he first arrived he was highly regarded and contributed some nice touches but to my mind his level of involvement was inadequate. However, he now seems to have increased his input. Our problem remains having a creative attacking mid fielder. At the moment Jacobs comes nearest to fulfilling that role but it appears Mousinho is hopeful Lowery can prosper there. I think we should consider playing both at the expense of Scarlett, with Jacobs playing on the wing more - not his best position but it allows us include both in a starting line up. I admired Scarlett's work when he played a twin striker role with Bishop, his running off the ball being a key strength but he does not get sufficient involvement as a winger. Realistically it is clear we will not get into the play-offs now so we must invest in next season. Scarlett will not be here then. I think therefore Jacobs and Lane must overtake him in the pecking order. The move to five possible substitutes appears in my opinion to be overused. Rather than injury replacements, it appears players are now giving their all for 60 minutes before being replaced. This was previously the case but more apparent now. It may better utilize the fitness of the whole squad but when four players are replaced it must disturb the rhythm of the team and there is little time to regain it. I was slightly disappointed with the Crawley's dismissal and in particular the timing of it. However, Mousinho has bought in a freashness and differences in approach that have paid dividends. It will be interesting to see how he uses the rest of the season with both promotion and relegation remote possibilities.
Great shout out to those wonderful hardy Pompey fans who made that trip for an evening week day match
