Almost 9,000 Pompey fans enjoyed a grand day out at the impressive Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this month. But the price for reaching the third round of the FA Cup was having to move the longest away trip of the season to the middle of the week. A Tuesday trek to the Fylde coast is only for the most hardy, but that is the task facing those in the away end at Fleetwood this evening (7.45pm kick-off). They will be hoping to see John Mousinho’s side register back-to-back victories after seeing off Exeter on Saturday. Their opponents sit two spots – and five points – behind the Blues in 17th spot and go into the game on the back of a narrow loss at Sheffield Wednesday. But after shocking Championship side QPR at Highbury Stadium recently, Fleetwood will be heading back to Hillsborough on Saturday in the fourth round of the cup. Scott Brown’s side have otherwise struggled on home soil in recent weeks, though, having not claimed a league success since October. It finished 1-1 when the teams met at Fratton Park that same month, as Josh Koroma’s goal was cancelled out by Carlos Mendes Gomes. But Pompey came out on top in last season’s corresponding fixture, as Lee Brown’s effort was enough to secure the points on the opening day. TEAM NEWS Pompey remain without Tom Lowery (hamstring), Jay Mingi (knee), Joe Rafferty (stomach), Jayden Reid (knee) and Clark Robertson (hip). HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 7 wins Fleetwood: 3 wins 4 draws On the road Pompey: 5 wins Fleetwood: 2 wins 0 draws OFFICIALS Referee: Anthony Backhouse Assistants: Mark Cunliffe and Richard Woodward Fourth Official: Andrew Kitchen TICKETS Pompey fans will be able to purchase tickets at Highbury Stadium this evening. Click here for more details. 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. 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. Local listeners can hear commentary by tuning in to either Express FM or BBC Radio Solent (not available online). BETTING Pompey are the 13/10 favourites with VBET to secure all three points, while the hosts can be backed at 2/1.
Half time. 0-1 to a vastly improved Pompey. Thoroughly deserved lead, which could/should be 2 or 3 nil ahead. Colby Bishop scored in the 43rd minute, following a lovely run into the box by Joe Morrell, whose pass to Bishop was spot on. Colby Bishop's 15th goal of the season ! If we carry on like this in the second half, we should score more goals.
Half Time Match Stats:- Home Team: Fleetwood ............Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 41% Away 59% Shots: Home 3 Away 6 Shots on Target: Home 1 Away 4 Corners: Home 0 Away 2 Fouls: Home 6 Away 5
Final whistle. 0-2 to Pompey. Second goal came in the 83rd minute through Joe Pigott (who had only been on the pitch for 4 minutes!!) he had a close range shot, after Ryley Towler's powerful header was pushed on to the crossbar by keeper Jay Lynch. Pompey brought on Louis Thompson for Ryan Tunnicliffe in the 67th minute, Joe Pigott for Colby Bishop in the 79th minute, and Denver Hume for Injured Ronan Curtis in the 88th minute. Nsiala was booked in the 47th minute for a nasty foul on Joe Morrell. Colby Bishop was booked in the 57th minute presumably for dissent. In the 63rd minute, both Wiredu and Joe Morrell were booked for a tussle off the ball, with Morrell shoving the Fleetwood player to the pitch, because he was being held by Wiredu !! In the 69th minute, Joe Morrell received a second yellow card (which became a red) for hand ball. Further yellow cards in the 89th minute for Zak Swanson for , and in the 91st minute Conor Ogilvie for hand ball. How Nsiala wasn't red carded earlier in the second half for hand ball, only the officials will ever know Still, at the end of the day we have won our second match in 4 days - that's six points out of six, another clean sheet, and an excellent team performance against an aggressive Fleetwood team. On to Saturday, with a trickier game away to Peterborough, let us hope we can keep up our winning run under our new coach.
Final Match Stats:- Home Team: Fleetwood ...........Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 50% Away 50% Shots: Home 14 Away 15 Shots on Target: Home 3 Away 7 Corners: Home 4 Away 7 Fouls: Home 12 Away 13