All's well that end's well
Sorry for the lateness of this report, but we decided to make a weekend of it on the south coast, although taking care not to stay on Portsea Island itself. We had a nightmare journey down because of the resurfacing on the A34 and feared at one time that we might not make the match. However, we managed to park up by Portsmouth Prison and got to the ground to hear that Leamington, a step 5 non-league club, are through to the first round proper and have an away tie against Colchester.
In fact we got to the ground in time to see such Charlton stalwarts as a jovial Councillor Rick Everitt; Pam from Sidcup who had dyed her hair red for the occasion; and Brian Cole attempting to wave a large 'Pompey Addicks' banner.
The news about the Brakes boosted our spirits, but Charlton's performance in the first half did not. Pompey celebrated Trafalgar weekend by coming at us with all guns blazing and we did not seem to be able to out manouevre them. However, as Curbs later pointed out, no team could sustain such a ferocious attack and, although the self-styled Miracle of Montevideo, Dario Silva, put them ahead with an excellent angled strike that went through Andersen's legs, there were signs of the Addicks getting back into the game as half time approached.
The Silva goal revealed shortcomings in the Charlton defence. Admittedly, it was set up by an incredibly precise long ball and, although Hreidarsson pounded after Silva as if he was being followed by a stream of molten lava, he was unable to catch up with him. But where was our left back, Spector? The defence may have been subdued by early bookings to Kishishev and Hreidarsson who protested strongly.
Half time gave us a chance to appreciate our surroundings. Rumours circulated through the crowd that the 'rotation' of the Fratton Park pitch was to start in November, but it was evident from the programme that it was going to be delayed at least until the end of the season. Many Championship grounds, and even some lower down the leagues, offer better accommodation to away fans.
Ambrose had already been testing former Rushden and Diamonds keeper Ashdown and it was pure Ambrosia when Murphy, fed by Kishishev, put in a perfect ball to the recalled player who struck a low shot into the back of the net.
Some of the confidence drained out of Pompey after the equaliser and in 77 minutes Rommedahl put in a great shot from an angle to make it 2-1. Luke Young almost knocked him off his feet with a rugby tackle style celebration.
Referee Howard Webb had been spraying cards to all and sundry. He sent Ambrose off at Sunderland and gave him a yellow for diving when Ashdown rushed out of his goal and collided with him. JJ also mannaged to drive a ball across the front of goal to the corner flag rather than passing or scoring. It was ever thus, but the 2-1 victory put us 2nd in the table.
Match analysis
Match analyst Homer the Cherry Hound enjoyed a morning walk in the New Forest while his master and Joe the Saint went to watch the Saints defeat Millwall 2-0. The lucky labrador selected Dennis Rommedahl as his man of the match, awarding him the Silver Bone in particular for his superb match winning goal. Rommedahl has really started to show this season why it was worth buying him. His Danish counterpart Andersen made some excellent saves and was let down by the defence for his goal. Chris Perry once again had an excellent game, but Homer lost his cool and was almost thrown out of the press box for wild barking when Perry floored Robert without getting a yellow card, paying him back for his diving antics while playing for Newcastle. It was a superb piece of professional gamesmanship. Those doubters who have suggested he is too short to do a proper job at centre back should have witnessed this performance. Young was somewhat off the pace against Fulham, but had a really excellent game, forging forward very effectively. Hreidarsson had to spend a lot of time looking after Spector, but otherwise had a good game. Chris Powell does tire and does then make mistakes, but is this not a justification for having a substitute ready, rather than replacing him? Or moving the Herminator to left back? As we said in our preview, this blog remains unconvinced by Spector. Addicks in the USA have come strongly to his defence and I don't doubt that he has potential, but is our first priority to develop players for the Salford Red Sox? Kishishev is now in the unfortunate position of being the scapegoat for moaners. This means that every mistake is magnified and every good move receives no praise. He is error prone, and, like much of the team, his first half performance was poor. But he made some superb interventions and passes in the second half. Indeed, it is the best he has played for some time. Smertin lacked some of his usual sparkle. Leaving aside a couple of very average corner kicks, Murphy performed well and contributed substantially to the final result. Bent was not as involved as in some games, although in some ways it is good to have someone other than him and Murphy score. He did turn provider for Luke Young whose effort was only just over and won Charlton a corner. Surprisingly, there was no cameo appearance for Hughes but JJ got the opportunity to remind us why he doesn't start while El Karkouri
had just a few minutes on the pitch.
The Hiss of the Match goes to the chavtastic Charlton supporters behind us who seemed to be auditioning for their ASBOs. Their conduct also offended a number of people around me. One expects some bad language at football matches, but not two four letter words in every sentence (most often applied to Kishishev). On a day when Charlton players had thrown their anti-racism t-shirts into the crowd, one doesn't expect racist comments about opposition players or Charlton supporters. No doubt they would say that they are the 'real' supporters, but if the club wants to know why some people don't go away, here is another reason.
Crowd rating It's always difficult against the Pompey crowd who are really fanantical about their team. Indeed, I'm glad we don't have the same monotonous chanting at Charlton. However, Charlton fans are too quiet, particularly when their team is under the cosh. 6/10.
In fact we got to the ground in time to see such Charlton stalwarts as a jovial Councillor Rick Everitt; Pam from Sidcup who had dyed her hair red for the occasion; and Brian Cole attempting to wave a large 'Pompey Addicks' banner.
The news about the Brakes boosted our spirits, but Charlton's performance in the first half did not. Pompey celebrated Trafalgar weekend by coming at us with all guns blazing and we did not seem to be able to out manouevre them. However, as Curbs later pointed out, no team could sustain such a ferocious attack and, although the self-styled Miracle of Montevideo, Dario Silva, put them ahead with an excellent angled strike that went through Andersen's legs, there were signs of the Addicks getting back into the game as half time approached.
The Silva goal revealed shortcomings in the Charlton defence. Admittedly, it was set up by an incredibly precise long ball and, although Hreidarsson pounded after Silva as if he was being followed by a stream of molten lava, he was unable to catch up with him. But where was our left back, Spector? The defence may have been subdued by early bookings to Kishishev and Hreidarsson who protested strongly.
Half time gave us a chance to appreciate our surroundings. Rumours circulated through the crowd that the 'rotation' of the Fratton Park pitch was to start in November, but it was evident from the programme that it was going to be delayed at least until the end of the season. Many Championship grounds, and even some lower down the leagues, offer better accommodation to away fans.
Ambrose had already been testing former Rushden and Diamonds keeper Ashdown and it was pure Ambrosia when Murphy, fed by Kishishev, put in a perfect ball to the recalled player who struck a low shot into the back of the net.
Some of the confidence drained out of Pompey after the equaliser and in 77 minutes Rommedahl put in a great shot from an angle to make it 2-1. Luke Young almost knocked him off his feet with a rugby tackle style celebration.
Referee Howard Webb had been spraying cards to all and sundry. He sent Ambrose off at Sunderland and gave him a yellow for diving when Ashdown rushed out of his goal and collided with him. JJ also mannaged to drive a ball across the front of goal to the corner flag rather than passing or scoring. It was ever thus, but the 2-1 victory put us 2nd in the table.
Match analysis
Match analyst Homer the Cherry Hound enjoyed a morning walk in the New Forest while his master and Joe the Saint went to watch the Saints defeat Millwall 2-0. The lucky labrador selected Dennis Rommedahl as his man of the match, awarding him the Silver Bone in particular for his superb match winning goal. Rommedahl has really started to show this season why it was worth buying him. His Danish counterpart Andersen made some excellent saves and was let down by the defence for his goal. Chris Perry once again had an excellent game, but Homer lost his cool and was almost thrown out of the press box for wild barking when Perry floored Robert without getting a yellow card, paying him back for his diving antics while playing for Newcastle. It was a superb piece of professional gamesmanship. Those doubters who have suggested he is too short to do a proper job at centre back should have witnessed this performance. Young was somewhat off the pace against Fulham, but had a really excellent game, forging forward very effectively. Hreidarsson had to spend a lot of time looking after Spector, but otherwise had a good game. Chris Powell does tire and does then make mistakes, but is this not a justification for having a substitute ready, rather than replacing him? Or moving the Herminator to left back? As we said in our preview, this blog remains unconvinced by Spector. Addicks in the USA have come strongly to his defence and I don't doubt that he has potential, but is our first priority to develop players for the Salford Red Sox? Kishishev is now in the unfortunate position of being the scapegoat for moaners. This means that every mistake is magnified and every good move receives no praise. He is error prone, and, like much of the team, his first half performance was poor. But he made some superb interventions and passes in the second half. Indeed, it is the best he has played for some time. Smertin lacked some of his usual sparkle. Leaving aside a couple of very average corner kicks, Murphy performed well and contributed substantially to the final result. Bent was not as involved as in some games, although in some ways it is good to have someone other than him and Murphy score. He did turn provider for Luke Young whose effort was only just over and won Charlton a corner. Surprisingly, there was no cameo appearance for Hughes but JJ got the opportunity to remind us why he doesn't start while El Karkouri
had just a few minutes on the pitch.
The Hiss of the Match goes to the chavtastic Charlton supporters behind us who seemed to be auditioning for their ASBOs. Their conduct also offended a number of people around me. One expects some bad language at football matches, but not two four letter words in every sentence (most often applied to Kishishev). On a day when Charlton players had thrown their anti-racism t-shirts into the crowd, one doesn't expect racist comments about opposition players or Charlton supporters. No doubt they would say that they are the 'real' supporters, but if the club wants to know why some people don't go away, here is another reason.
Crowd rating It's always difficult against the Pompey crowd who are really fanantical about their team. Indeed, I'm glad we don't have the same monotonous chanting at Charlton. However, Charlton fans are too quiet, particularly when their team is under the cosh. 6/10.
posted by Wyn Grant at 4:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home