It was just 17 days ago when a throng of Pompey fans braved stormy conditions to make a wasted journey to Cheshire. Despite the rain forecast to end soon and the Crewe groundsman insisting that the pitch would drain quickly, referee Martin Coy made the decision to postpone the League One contest. So now everyone has had to traipse back up north to the Alexandra Stadium in the middle of the week to finally get the fixture played. The Blues have done well since then, finding their shooting boots to stretch an unbeaten run to six matches. Their opponents, however, remain rooted to the foot of the table and are eight points adrift of safety with 11 games remaining. David Artell’s men have lost eight of their past nine matches and were beaten 3-1 on home soil by Wycombe at the weekend. Strikes from John Marquis and Marcus Harness secured a 2-0 victory for Pompey when the sides met on the south coast back in August. But it was goalless in the most recent meeting at Gresty Road, with the wasteful Marquis seeing a spot-kick saved. TEAM NEWS Pompey are without Kieron Freeman (ankle), Reeco Hackett (knee), Jayden Reid (knee) and Shaun Williams (back), while Michael Jacobs (knee) remains a doubt. Ronan Curtis is available again after completing a two-match ban, but Marcus Harness starts a three-game suspension following his red card at the weekend. Ben Knight (ankle), Scott Kashket (ankle), Mikael Mandron (knee) and Billy Sass-Davies (calf) are all sidelined for Crewe. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 8 wins Crewe: 7 wins 6 draws At Alexandra Stadium Pompey: 2 wins Crewe: 3 wins 5 draws TICKETS Pompey fans can no longer buy tickets for this match and they will not be sold at the ground on the day of the game. Anybody collecting tickets at Alexandra Stadium should visit the away ticket office. OFFICIALS Referee: Andrew Kitchen Assistants: Peter Gooch and Mark Jones Fourth Official: Darren Handley 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 also 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. BETTING Pompey are the 4/6 favourites with VBET to secure all three points, while the hosts can be backed at 7/2.
Crewe Alexandra Starting Line Up:- 31 Dave Richards 23 Travis Johnson 29 Connor O'Riordan 6 Luke Offord 20 Josh Lundstram 16 Luke Murphy 18 Regan Griffiths 8 Tom Lowery 15 Daniel Agyei 9 Chris Porter 7 Chris Long Substitutes 1 Will Jääskeläinen 4 Reekem Harper 11 Callum Ainley 19 Bassala Sambou 28 Michael Williams 32 Connor Salisbury 33 Charlie Finney
Joe Morrell in for Ryan Tunnicliffe, and Ronan Curtis in for suspended Marcus Harness is a good move. BUT, why replace Aiden O'Brien with Tyler Walker up front ?!
Half time whistle, and it's 0-2 to Pompey, continuing their recent good form. We took the lead in the third minute with a headed goal from George Hirst from a Conor Ogilvie cross. Louis Thompson was booked in the 26th minute for a foul. In the 31st minute we went 0-2 up with a first Pompey goal from Tyler Walker with a shot in the corner of the net. I'm delighted he is proving me wrong !!
Half-Time Match Stats:- Home Team: Crewe ...........Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 62% Away 38% Shots: Home 4 Away 10 Shots on Target: Home 1 Away 6 Corners: Home 4 Away 2 Fouls: Home 8 Away 5
Final whistle. 1-3 to Pompey. The winning run continues ! We went 0-3 up in the 66th minute with a headed goal from George Hirst (who else !) from a lovely left wing cross from Conor Ogilvie. Crewe pulled a goal back after 90 + 1 minutes from Chris Long. Hayden Carter was booked for a foul in the 61st minute. Porter of Crewe was booked for a foul from behind on Louis Thompson in the 55th minute. Pompey made three second half substitutions - Ryan Tunnicliffe for Louis Thompson, Aiden O'Brien for George Hirst, and Denver Hume for Hayden Carter.
Final Match Stats:- Home Team: Crewe ...........Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 65% Away 35% Shots: Home 15 Away 17 Shots on Target: Home 3 Away 12 Corners: Home 7 Away 5 Fouls: Home 13 Away 11
A good win going in to the last 11 matches. On paper it looks daunting- Rotherham, Wigan, Wycombe, Plymouth, Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Bolton amongst others. Get five wins from these and three wins from the other opponents would put us on 81 points. That would be play-offs assured! I am sure PFC will hace a go for it!
Pompey fans in the away end. They out sang Crewe fans throughout the game ! please log in to view this image
