It is a Papa John’s Trophy second round tie that has appeared cursed from the outset. But Exeter and Pompey will finally do battle at St James Park this evening (7.30pm kick-off) for a place in the competition’s last 16. Originally scheduled for the start of December, a mix-up over substitutions forced the hosts to have to replay an FA Cup contest on the same evening. A new date was arranged for just before Christmas, but that also fell through because of a Covid outbreak among both squads. So it has certainly been a long time coming and tonight’s victors know they will be heading to Cambridge in the next round on Tuesday. And with the quarter-final draw having already taken place, a trip to Rotherham lies in wait for one of those three teams. Blues fans will certainly remember the last time they faced Exeter in this competition, with the sides meeting at Fratton Park for a semi-final clash in February 2020. Trailing 2-1 as the game reached stoppage-time, Cameron McGeehan and John Marquis both struck to break Grecians hearts and send the hosts to Wembley. Exeter currently sit eighth in the League Two standings and are just a point outside the play-off spots following Tuesday night’s goalless draw at Forest Green. Please note that in the event of a draw after 90 minutes, there will be no extra-time and the tie will be decided by a penalty shoot-out. TEAM NEWS Pompey have no new injury concerns and no current cases of Covid-19 in the squad, with Clark Robertson, Louis Thompson and Ryan Tunnicliffe all back in full training. Exeter boss Matt Taylor has suggested he will rotate his squad, while Jonathan Grounds (calf) is likely to miss out. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 14 wins Exeter: 6 wins 8 draws At St James Park Pompey: 5 wins Exeter: 2 wins 7 draws TICKETS Pompey fans will be able to secure tickets at St James Park this evening. Click here for full details. OFFICIALS Referee: Paul Howard Assistants: Declan O’Shea and Kevin Morris Fourth Official: Brett Huxtable 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 87/100 favourites with VBET to secure all three points, while the hosts can be backed at 14/5.
1-1 at half time. George Hirst put us 0-1 up in the 5th minute with a header from a Marcus Harness cross. Matt Jay equalised a minute later with a superb shot that gave Alex Bass no chance. Yellow card for Joe Morrell in the 34th minute for a foul. We could have scored more goals, and Hirst himself could have had a hat trick ! We have played well so far, but if only we could take our chances.
Final whistle. Somewhat fortunate 3-2 away win for Pompey with late goals in the 89th and 93rd minutes to win the match against an Exeter side who were superb in the second half. They are indeed an absolute credit to the county of Devon as far as football is concerned. We made four substitutions in the 63rd minute to try and counter Exeter's formation, but it didn't seem to work initially. Ronan Curtis, Louis Thompson, Michael Jacobs and Reeco Hackett all came on for John Marquis, George Hirst, Miguel Azeez and Marcus Harness. Sean Raggett was booked in the 64th minute for a foul. Exeter deservedly took a 2-1 lead in the 75th minute when an Archie Collins shot took a deflection past Alex Bass. In the 88th minute, youngster Harry Jewitt-White replaced Joe Morrell who looks like he took a knock. The game came to life in the 89th minute when Ronan Curtis superbly headed home a lovely free kick from Michael Jacobs to draw level at 2-2. Then in the 93rd minute, after Reeco Hackett had cleverly taken the ball into the box, Ronan Curtis took the ball off of him, and fired it through a sea of defender's legs into the back of the net to make it 2-3 to Pompey !! Breathless stuff at the end, but we are through to the next round, with an away match at Cambridge United next Tuesday evening. If we win that match, we are into the quarter finals, away to Rotherham.
So sanity doesn't prevail and we play a bunch of first teamers in the pointless cup. Don't come crying when injuries and fixtures start piling up. I suppose with few games played recently you could make the match fitness argument perhaps in which case assuming there's no more postponements then we can bring out the reserves for the next round... But knowing Portsmouth we will play a full first xi...
Sorry to take issue with you Lapras but as PFC have hardly played any football in recent weeks, it was good to put out a strong team. And I am pleased we got through. I would love Pompey to win it. With Pompey trying to offload Marquis and Harrison, something tells me that Cowley thinks this present squad are not good enough to go up, and is prepared to.wait until the summer to continue building his own team. I think he is right.
