Hi pompeydownunder - I was at the game. It was great to see Teddy Sheringham back at Fratton Park as manager of Stevenage. He got a brillianr welcome, which was thoroughly deserved ! Pompey gave a full debut to Romy Boco in midfield, and he along with right back Ben Davies were the pick of the players. Boco was everywhere, a proper "all action" player who had a couple of useful shots on goal. Pompey scored a lovely goal by substitute Conor Chaplin, from an excellent through ball from left back Enda Stevens. It looked like it was enough to have won the match, until in the dying seconds of added time, they scored from a long through in. It was an enjoyable end to end game, with Stevenage playing their part. The match statistics say it all, with Pompey having 54% possession, 20 shots, with 7 on target, and Stevenage having 6 shots with 2 on target. Frustrating we couldn't have taken our chances and won the match. Only beaten once in 14 league matches though, and second in the table, so not all bad ! Mansfield at home next Saturday, so another interesting game, with them right behind us in the table, complete with ex Pompey striker Craig Westcarr in their side. He never really did well for us, but no doubt he will want to come back and prove a point !
Me and the boys have tickets for the Mansfield game, lets home they come to play and not park the bus.
Thanks for the report Woopert. Conner Chaplin certainly appears to have the goal knack but I read little about his contribution in general play. Do you feel he should be in the starting 11? As I have said before, our drawn games against lesser clubs - such as the Stevenage result - may be an indication there is little difference between the upper and lower clubs in L2. It is a tight league. It appears Pompey have had the upper hand possession wise in most of their fixtures. While it may be frustrating this has not been translated into home wins, results support the saying possession is the best form of defence. In the last two seasons my impression from reports has been that we struggled to retain possession in mid field. At least this has been remedied. Given Mansfield's position in the table Saturday's game is almost a 'six point match' so it would indeed be disappointing SB3 if they 'parked the bus.'
We never beat Stevenage, and often lose (or in this case, they equalise in the 94th minute), however now that that twat Westley has gone, it's substantially less upsetting.
Conor Chaplin does know how to finish and is a very bright prospect, which is why both Liverpool & Derby County are scouting him at the moment. Like Matt Tubbs, he does need to play off another taller striker, which is something Paul Cook doesn't seem to favour in his line ups. Would like to see him start tomorrow, although it is good to see him coming on as an impact substitute.
