Pompey Academy moved up to second spot in Merit League One with a narrow victory over Cambridge at Copnor Road. Maxwell Hurst netted the only goal of the contest in the second half, guiding home a header following good work from Gabriel Kamavuako and a trialist. Liam Vincent also got his first taste of action in a Blues shirt, appearing for the opening hour after recently returning from injury. Professional development phase coach Liam Daish said: “It was a good win, although we rode our luck at times in the first half and had to make sure we remained in the game. “It was a more experienced Cambridge outfit that we were facing, with our side mostly made up of under-16 players and trialists. Pompey included three triallists – Destiny Ojo, Koby Mottoh and Dan Murray. “We made better decisions from a defensive perspective after the break and weren’t under too much pressure. “That gave us a platform to build on and we went on to dominate for the rest of the match, creating quite a few chances. “It was a really nice goal that got us the three points and Maxwell thoroughly deserved it for all his hard work. “Liam came in for an hour as a left-sided centre-half and hopefully he can gain some confidence from that. “He showed the right attitude and it’s a real positive for him to be able to get some minutes under the belt.” Pompey: Toby Steward; Whitaker, Jack Fox (C), Liam Vincent (Kaden Traynor 60), Harvey Laidlaw; Trialist, Trialist, Mitch Aston; Gabriel Kamavuako, Maxwell Hurst (Trialist 84), Trialist
