A 3-0 victory over Cambridge gave Pompey Academy their first victory of the season in the Youth Alliance League. Harry Clout was involved in all three of the goals at Copnor Road, with Nathaniel Chioma reacting quickest after the forward’s shot was blocked. He then collected an incisive through ball from Luke Staight and had an effort saved before teeing-up Jayden Keteku to find the target. And when a third Clout attempt was kept out by United keeper Jasper Briggs, the loose ball was fired home by Tayo Singerr. Lead professional development phase coach Sam Hudson said: “It was a much improved performance on the ball compared to our previous games this season. “After conceding the first goal in those other matches, it was nice to take the lead with just a couple of minutes on the clock. We were aggressive and on the front foot. “We’d challenged the boys to get more numbers in the box and into areas of the pitch where they can score. “That proved useful on this occasion because every time we had a chance, there were players there ready to capitalise. All three of our goals came about because of that. “Our opponents were very narrow, so we wanted to exploit the wide areas and we put in 23 crosses to make the most of that. “We created plenty of chances throughout the game and had almost 40 final third entries, along with nine shots on target. “There was a lot of positive attacking play, although there were also times when Cambridge played over our press and Oscar had to make a couple of saves. “Harry was particularly impressive on the left with his creativity, while Luke marshalled the midfield well. “It was nice to score a few goals, get the win and also keep our first clean sheet of the campaign. It was a good team performance.” Pompey: Oscar Glover; Michael Ani (Wilson 87), Cody Howard, Ciaran Martin, Beau Mullins; Luke Staight, Jayden Keteku, Chinedu Agu (Fraser Thomas 57); Nathaniel Chioma (Osifo 64), Tayo Singerr, Harry Clout
