Match Day Thread versus Portsmouth

I don't have to look very far for a reason for revenge with this one. I will never forgive them for losing to us in the play offs and making me spend loads of cash going to Wembley in the final only for us not to be bothered to turn up against Wimbledon. Totally out of order and worthy of a spanking.

Bit of a weird match day being Monday. Not even a midweek norm is it. This one is going to be a bit on the difficult side I think but we can, if we turn up, win this. Don't think we have come across any side to be fearful of this season so far and have been in every game we have played. We can do it..............



COYG

 

I hope we beat them, The game is on TV here.
COYG

 

Played on a Monday because Sky Sports have ordained it so....you either accept their control over our national sport...or you refused to have anything to do with them......and hope that you can find some way of seeing the match without putting money in their bank balance.

Sky have made top players obscenely rich...wildly beyond their financial needs ever in their lifetime,....Quarter/half a million £'s per week.....how much of that filters through to the grass roots of the game....by the state of the lower league clubs during a pandemic....very little.

Okay Argyle I think benefit Monday by something like £30,000.....some players get that for not playing every 12 hours of the week.

 

Portsmouth sobbing their hearts up at the moments.....their star winger away with Eire...also injured players...some haven't trained and might not make it...others very doubtful as well.....just the same old stories to make the opposition think it's going to be an easy home win.....a case of pull the other one thank you.

 

Do we really care how many of their team is missing? I don't as it's just part of the game at the moment. We had to play a few with first team members absent so hard luck. You win, you draw you lose. It's just another game for 3 points and we move on after. Their season does not depend on this one match and I will bet they will be competitive in any event.

 

Unable to watch the video of tonights game....only got access to the audio version.....which I won't bother with.....I'll follow on BBC website.....Sky can take a run and jump.

Didn't of course see the England game last night either.

 

M Cooper, Watts, Opoku, Aimson, Fornah, Edwards, G Cooper, Camara, Mayor, Nouble, Hardie.

Subs
McCormick, Wootton, Canavan, Reeves, Grant, Telford, Abraham.

 

Portsmouth have only one change from the team that beat Ipswich in the Cup.....Close in for Curtis who is away with Eire.

So all that heartbreak earlier in the week about injuries....suddenly blown away.....strange that.

 

1-0....Raggett...11mins...og

 

1-0...H/T

Argyle 6 shots 1 on target.

Portsmouth 1 shot...nil on target.

 

Nouble giving them a hard time and we've managed to smother Portsmouth at the other end.

Good first half but at 1-0 definitely not safe.

 

Some of the Portsmouth players are looking quite frustrated. This could boil over.

 

Two subs at half time, going to 4:4:2 it seems.

 

2-2...Opoku...68 minutes.

 

2-2...F/T.

 

This is going to sound a tad partisan but I think we were the better side over the 90 minutes and it would have been a bit of an injustice if we had got nothing out of that. The Ref was as bad as I thought he might be. Totally over fussy about any sort of challenge and kept up his considerable record of bookings. He was the same both ways. Thought the penalty decision was a bit unlucky given the ball was headed onto him from only a yard away although VAR of course would have given it. Was happy at least to have got a point in the end and I think both managers probably thought the same even if they don't say that out loud.

 

I agree. We were stronger in the 1st half and finished the 2nd stronger too. In between we struggled with them changing formation.

If the ball hadn't struck his hand, it would have been stopped by his body so harsh for me also.

 

I would like the Refs Union to tell me what they would do if they were going to get hit in the face with a football. Would they instinctively raise their hands or would they just take it on the chin like a good' un. Would they jump like a Maasai Warrior with their hands by their side. There is a world of difference in deliberately putting hands in the way and what happens in a whole load of penalty decisions these days. If it was the other way around I would still call it harsh. Breakspear as a Referee is a nonsense. It wasn't what you would call a dirty game but he almost couldn't wait to get his cards out. He blew for every little thing going and it ruins a game. I really don't want him anywhere near another Argyle game please.

 

We need to go back to the old rule: hand to ball is deliberate and a foul. Anything else, unless a player takes up a completely artificial stance (e.g. both arms and legs stretched out wide in a star shape in the hope of blocking a shot) is not.

 

Found a match video to look at....although it seems to be a Portsmouth one.....and I see also the commentary team had a Portsmouth slant...no one from Argyle.

Penalty a little harsh....maybe Kell Watts showing a little inexperience having his hands in front of his face.....but the ball hit him from a very short distances away....he had little chance of avoiding the ball.

But they came back from the disappointment of giving two goals away in three minutes....so credit there.