It is a fixture that Pompey fans have become pretty used to over the past decade. And the latest chapter of meetings with Oxford is about to be written at the Kassam Stadium this evening (7pm kick-off). There were four clashes last season – and that was even with Covid-19 cancelling a scheduled trip at the end of March. And all of them finished level after 90 minutes, but it was United celebrating in the play-offs after Cameron McGeehan’s saved penalty proved costly in the shoot-out. Karl Robinson’s side then suffered their own heartache at Wembley, with Wycombe beating them to secure the final spot in the Championship. After a slow start to the current campaign, Oxford have stormed up the table in recent weeks and currently sit eighth – four points behind the Blues with a game in hand. They have been beaten just once in League One in 2021 and won nine of their past 11 fixtures, although were held to a goalless draw at Ipswich last time out. United were also denied a spot in this term’s Papa John’s Trophy final after losing their semi-final contest with Tranmere a week ago. It finished 1-1 when the sides met at Fratton Park back in November, with an Alex Gorrin penalty cancelling out Sean Raggett’s opener. TEAM NEWS James Bolton is out with the ankle problem that saw him sidelined at the weekend, but Alex Bass (leg) and Michael Jacobs (hamstring) are both back in light training. Sam Long could return from a hamstring injury for the hosts, although Oxford will be missing Marcus McGuane (thigh) and John Mousinho (knee). HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 25 wins Oxford: 23 wins 21 draws At Oxford Pompey: 8 wins Oxford: 19 wins 9 draws OFFICIALS Referee: Graham Salisbury Assistants: Stephen Brown and Greg Read Fourth Official: David Rock BETTING Pompey are the 31/20 favourites with VBET to secure all three points, while the hosts can be backed at 9/5.
0-0 at half time. It's a good pitch surface, so one thing I can't understand is why so many Oxford players are having difficulty in staying on their feet, instead of falling over and throwing themselves to the ground !! Is it to break up play when Pompey have the ball ? Surely not ! Both sides have had their chances, but I feel Pompey have come more into the game. Harvey White had a good first half - he reads the game well.
Half-Time Match Stats:- Home Team: Oxford Utd .........Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 56% Away 44% Shots: Home 3 Away 7 Shots on Target: Home 1 Away 2 Corners: Home 2 Away 1 Fouls: Home 5 Away 8
Final whistle, and it's a superb 1-0 away win to Pompey. Three lovely points, a clean sheet, and a much better Pompey performance. Harvey White (surely Man of the Match) headed Pompey ahead in the 48th minute from a Callum Johnson cross, ghosting between the defenders to score his first goal for the club on his full debut. We brought on Ryan Williams for Marcus Harness in the 63rd minute, John Marquis for Ronan Curtis in the 74th minute, and Jordi Hiwula for Ellis Harrison in the 86th minute. It's strange that after we scored just after half time, suddenly the Oxford players managed to keep themselves from falling over - coincidence ?......surely not !!
Final Match Stats:- Home Team: Oxford Utd ..........Away Team: Portsmouth Possession: Home 55% Away 45% Shots: Home 8 Away 14 Shots on Target: Home 3 Away 6 Corners: Home 3 Away 2 Fouls: Home 13 Away 15
Thanks Woopert´s for your feed this evening. This has always been a tricky fixture for Pompey. Great to get a win. One query - no Byers, not even as a sub? Good rotation from KJ but he needs to find his strikers some scoring boots pretty dam quick. As for the results tonight, quite good with Accrington and Charlton both losing. Sunderland won, and I feel theyare on their way to an automatic place along with Peterborough. I will be more than happy with a playoff place because this season we will progress that way. I am convinced we will go up if we make the playoffs.
I got behind watching the ifollow game replays and hence watched the Blackpool and Oxford games in close succession. Pompey got slated for their performance against Blackpool and praised for beating Oxford. And yet the thing that struck me was the similarities between the two games. Both were decided by a single goal and there was some random as to which side scored (if any). Certainly against Oxford Pompey created more chances and looked better in the last third of the pitch than they did against Blackpool. On the other hand they conceded better chances to Oxford than they did to Blackpool. Against Blackpool I thought the substitutions were inappropriate and made at a stage when Pompey were at last getting some forward momentum. Given the increased number of substitutions available there seems to be more compulsion to make changes but if you are not behind in the game they may not be for the best. I have been mildly surprised by some recent selections. Initially I thought Brown should not have been dropped when Daniels arrived since he had been playing well. However, having been bought straight into the team Daniels had done nothing wrong so I was surprised that Brown was bought back. . After Bolton had done well following Whatmough's (unfortuneate) suspension I was surprised to see Nicoloisen selected in preference to both of them. Whatmough had todate had an outstanding season. It must however be said that Nicoloisen has played well once given his chance. White's selection in preference to Byers was also a surprise. I doubt that White would have come to Pompey had Byers been signed before him. Byers played well in the one game he started. When loanees are involved in marginal selections they often seem to win out - possibly because of promises made when signed on loan. However, this contradicts the clubs long term interests. Having said the above there were reasons to be impressed by White. His goal was excellent. I noticed that he had ghosted into the penalty area on several occasions and positioned himself well to 'pick up scraps.' Based on this observation his goal is unlikely to be a one off. His work rate appeared to be high (something that is difficult to judge on television and really needs to be seen live) and his passing was good. It will be interesting to see the team selected to play Gillingham.
