Pompey’s promotion charge has stuttered recently and they are currently seven points adrift of second place. So Kenny Jackett’s side will be looking to get things back on a track against a Northampton side who were propping up the rest of the division at the beginning of the week. But the Cobblers should be in confident mood following Tuesday night’s home victory over mid-table Plymouth. A Ryan Watson brace brought to an end their 11-match winning run and led to a rise of two spots in the standings. It means that the club are now just a single point shy of the safety mark, with 14 games still left to play. Poor form led to the dismissal of manager Keith Curle last month, while it was recently announced that caretaker boss Jon Brady will remain in that position for the remainder of the season. He will be hoping to ensure Northampton do not make an immediate return to League Two, having beaten Exeter at Wembley in last June’s play-off final. The Blues were beaten 3-1 – with Matty Kennedy on target – on their most recent visit to Sixfields Stadium back in September 2017. But Pompey triumphed 4-0 when the sides met on the south coast earlier in the current campaign, courtesy of a John Marquis double and goals from Ronan Curtis and Marcus Harness. TEAM NEWS James Bolton (ankle) and Michael Jacobs (hamstring) will both require fitness tests after recently returning to training. Alex Bass has suffered a recurrence of his hairline foot fracture and Callum Johnson (calf) is still sidelined. Northampton will be without defenders Cian Bolger (hip) and Alan Sheehan (calf), while on-loan Pompey midfielder Bryn Morris cannot appear against his parent club. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 20 wins Northampton: 10 wins 7 draws At Northampton Pompey: 6 wins Northampton: 7 wins 3 draws OFFICIALS Referee: Andy Haines Assistants: Darren Wilding and Leigh Crowhurst Fourth Official: Paul Stonier BETTING Pompey are the 87/100 favourites with VBET to secure all three points, while the hosts can be backed at 10/3.
Half time. 4-0 to Northampton Town. They thoroughly deserve it, as our defence is atrocious !! They went 1-0 up in the 21st minute with a superb free kick from Ryan Watson. 2-0 up in the 23rd minute, with a header from watson again, from a corner kick. 3-0 up in the 32nd minute, with a Fraser Horsfall header from another corner. 4-0 up in the 43rd minute, with a header from Ryan Edmondson, from a Horsfall cross. John Marquis was booked in the 34th minute for a foul. We have failed to get our game together so far. What is wrong with Sean Raggett, and why is he not winning balls in the air ? He is 6' 5" tall for fecks sake
Half Time Match Stats:- Home Team: Northampton ..........Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 33% Away 67% Shots: Home 9 Away 4 Shots on Target: Home 6 Away 2 Corners: Home 5 Away 0 Fouls: Home 7 Away 8
Final whistle. Final score 4-1 to the Cobblers. We made a quadruple substitution in the 59th minute with Ellis Harrison, Harvey White, James Bolton and Jordy Hiwula replacing John Marquis, George Byers, Ronan Curtis and Rasmus Nicolaisen. Harvey White was fouled in the box, and Ellis Harrison scored the resultant penalty in the 72nd minute, ant that was it. Shocking result for us against a team second from bottom before the match started. God help us Tuesday evening at home to Sunderland.......
Final Match Stats:- Home Team: Northampton .........Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 30% Away 70% Shots: Home 14 Away 10 Shots on Target: Home 7 Away 3 Corners: Home 7 Away 1 Fouls: Home 14 Away 13
I daré say a few Pompey fans wouldn't mind a convincing Sunderland win if it hastens Kenny's éxit. However, I expect a battling Pompey performance and a narrow loss which usually happens after such an abject performance in the.previous match.
As It Stands:- Team ..................P GD Pts 1 Hull .................34 28 62 2 Peterborough 32 24 62 3 Lincoln City ....32 20 60 4 Sunderland .....32 23 57 5 Doncaster .......30 13 55 6 Portsmouth ....32 15 52 7 Accrington .....31 9 50 8 Ipswich ...........31 4 50 9 Charlton ..........33 2 48
I always struggle with that concept. I think they'll let his contract run its course and either give him a new deal or let him leave as a free agent. With the covid loses - £5 mill lost wasn't it I think? They're desperate to basically be safe in league 1 and spend very little money which is what Kenny delivers. They can't afford promotion imo and they're extremely lucky we are not at Fratton to vent our feelings. Changing manager is a risk to them. Least risk is to keep him and stumble on. I doubt they'd sack him before the final anyway (finally got my ticket money back). Just an absolute shambles. They haven't even bothered to post the final score and post match reaction on Facebook for fear of the comments. It's pathetic.