Match Day Thread Pompey 3 v 0 Sutton - Youth Alliance Cup

Cup Progress For Young Blues - Pompey see off Sutton to advance.

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Pompey Academy eased to a 3-0 victory over Sutton to book their place in round three of the Youth Alliance Cup.

Harvey Laidlaw (pictured), Koby Mottoh and Jamie Howell were all on target for the Blues at their Copnor Road base.

It was their opponents who made the brighter start, but the hosts broke the deadlock when Laidlaw converted Adam Payce’s delivery.

He then turned provider after the break, sending in a fine cross for Koby Mottoh to nod home and double the advantage.

And Pompey made sure of their progress in the competition by winning a penalty that was coolly converted by Howell.

Lead professional development phase coach Zesh Rehman said: “We had worked hard in the week on our defensive unit and attacking patterns of play.

“It was pleasing to see that pay off in the game and confidence is high after successive wins that have seen us score four goals and keep a couple of clean sheets.

“We were fortunate to take the lead against the run of play in the first half and it was an excellent set-piece by Adam for Harvey to score.

“But we had simply been too nice to play against up until that point and needed to be more aggressive.

“We dealt with the direct play much better after the break, although this is an area where we must improve.

“It was a wonderful cross in from Harvey for Koby to score a well-placed header and I’m pleased to see us be more ruthless in attack.

“The final goal was my favourite because we had pressed aggressively to win the ball high up the pitch and force our opponents to concede a penalty that Jamie calmly tucked away.

“All of our substitutes made a good impact, showing real energy and enthusiasm when they came onto the pitch.

“I would, however, like to see us improve our game management and decision making, in terms of when to play out from the back and when to go longer.

“The preparation process is ever evolving to help the boys with individual and group feedback for their development and there has been significant improvement in our ‘team first’ mentality.”

Pompey: Malachi Osei-Owusu; Josh Dockerill, Jack Fox, Kevin Bosaka (Simon Spurway 61); Brian Quarm, Elliott Simpson (Mitch Aston 61), Daniel Murray (Maxwell Hurst 70), Harvey Laidlaw; Adam Payce, Jamie Howell, Koby Mottoh