Sunderland.

[New Forester]

This time tomorrow. or ?

[Selsey Bill]

Biggest home game for a VERY long time. Nervous.

We need both the crowd and the players to be up for it in exactly the same way that both were when we played Wigan in early April this year. Then we have a chance.

[Berkshire Blue]

Really looking forward to this one. A win would be marvellous, but a point would be okay to keep up momentum going into the next couple of games.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Well, according to stats (FACTS) they are DLDDL at the stripys, including an 8-0 hammering.
Against Bournemouth they are LW
against Brighton they are DLLLL going back to the 80's

They don't travel well to the south coast.

Comfortable home win

[Number 1 Jasper]

Well, according to stats (FACTS) they are DLDDL at the stripys, including an 8-0 hammering.
Against Bournemouth they are LW
against Brighton they are DLLLL going back to the 80's

They don't travel well to the south coast.

Comfortable home win

[BlueinPLtwenty]

Awesome 3-1 win, a statement to the rest of the Division

[Sam_Brown]

Brilliant response to a couple of bad results.

[New Forester]

Well it’s this.

When Hawkins outstrips a defender it has to be our day. This was a great Pompey performance. We looked dangerous throughout the game. Curtis, Lowe and Thompson were a persistent threat but the whole team were on their game.

So now we know. We are good enough to win the league subject to a limited number of injuries and our fair share of luck.

It was great to see a Milton end packed with Sunderland fans and we played our part in making it the game of the season so far.

[Earl Grey]

Brilliant response to a couple of bad results.

Couldn't have put it better myself.......great response and we go into Christmas absolutely buzzing!

[pompeygunner]

Superb win. 1st half was a bit like a chess game, I also thought we gave them too much respect. Whereas 2nd half we were far more aggressive & took them apart. Hawkins was a man possessed & set the tone. Really could've been 4 or 5 in the end.

[streetrifle]

One player, above all those other great performances, stood out for me and was Man of the Match by a long way was Jack Whatmough. Faultless and commanding throughout , even to the extent of bailing out Clarke on two or three occasions by superb covering. It made me wonder why there is all the fuss still about Clarke, when under our noses it Whatmough who is the most likely to attract bids.
In fact I am a great admirer of Clarke but I thought he had a particularly shaky first half yesterday and only above mentioned covering by Jack saved them costing us a goal.

[Pompey Penguin]

Well, what can I say? I genuinely feel sorry for those people who were not at FP yesterday; if fans didn’t enjoy that match, then they are watching the wrong sport. It was the best game of football involving Pompey for years; the closest was probably the FA Cup game against Bournemouth three years ago, but that involved a PL team. Sunderland played a full part in the entertainment and were the best opposition we have faced all season by a long way (on another day...).

First half the two teams mostly cancelled each other out, but even after ten minutes it was clear that these were quality teams (for L1). Pompey were dangerous when they ran at Sunderland and Lowe/Curtis/Evans could play off Hawkins, leaving Cattermole for dead and turning the CBs. Curtis and Evans each got into good positions and just a poor touch at a critical moment prevented a clear scoring opportunity. At the other end, the Sunderland strikers were pulling wide and behind Thompson and Brown to try and pull Whatmough and Clarke out of position, and they played some tidy football in front of Pompey’s defence without ever creating anything much. There was also enough needle to make it interesting, lots of pulling and wrestling, culminating in a mass pushing match after Brown appeared to step on a Sunderland player (I don’t think this was deliberate) and provided the excuse a few players were looking for. The key moment was when Thompson, N. lost the ball on the right and the Sunderland player got in a good cross for the striker to angle the ball goalwards; good block by MacGillivray, but should have been a goal. 0-0 was fair at half-time.

Second half was a different story. A nice ball forward by Curtis, behind the CB but not too hard, allowed Hawkins to get Loovens turning again (a slow process) and Hawkins was always on the wrong side until he was fouled in the box. I have watched this a few times from both sides and although it was a clear penalty, I don’t see why the referee sent Loovens off; no indication that it was violent or that he hauled Hawkins down, just a tangle of legs involving a defender always in the wrong place due to his total lack of pace preventing him from getting alongside Hawkins. Did anyone see it from the Fratton End, and did it look like a deliberate trip from that viewpoint? Good penalty from Evans and 1-0.

At that point it got a bit helter-skelter for a few minutes. A second goal from Curtis, which was good play, but the goalkeeper was definitely at fault, should have settled things down, but Sunderland got one back very quickly to give themselves hope. Thompson, N. was beaten on the right, and Lowe was missing, giving the Sunderland player loads of time to cross to the back post. Live I blamed Brown for not defending the back post area, but watching again Curtis should have covered/blocked O’Nien’s run. Thankfully, Thompson, B. scored a third for Pompey following a good save from Hawkins’ header, and after that it was just a case of playing the game out. Pompey always looked the more likely to score again, with Hawkins missing a headed chance and Close unlucky when a shot took a deflection from an offside Pitman before going in.

Overall, Pompey were deserved winners, but the Sunderland miss before half time and the penalty straight after were key moments.

Hawkins had a great game; possibly the best he has played for Pompey. Strangely, I was pleased that he was booked and then got a “last chance” lecture from the referee before being (sensibly) substituted. If he is going to play that role, Hawkins has got to be prepared to give as good as he gets and unsettle CBs.

The attacking MF all did well, especially when playing at pace. Running at defences suits them all much more than trying to pass around a packed defence. Do it at speed, and accept that playing that fast there is going to be some mis-control at times.

The defence was mostly as solid as ever. It was interesting that the Sunderland strikers wanted nothing to do with Whatmough and Clarke, and even their goal by-passed those two entirely. Talking to Sunderland supporters over the week before the game, they all recognised that W&C are too good for L1 and would be the main obstacle in the way of a win for them; word is getting around. Most of Pompey’s problems came from mistakes made doing things they would get away with against lesser sides; lessons to be learned.

So, a LDW from Charlton, Barnsley and Sunderland, which is probably what was expected from our most difficult run of the season, but not necessarily in the order most people would have predicted.

[Berkshire Blue]

Excellent report PP. The only things I would add are that Sunderland were pretty much the smallest team I have seen at FP for quite a while, and along with Luton the most skilful. Also FP was really rocking - I think the noisiest at least since the last game in League 2. As you said, it was a great game to watch and a huge one to win.

[Selsey Bill]

One player, above all those other great performances, stood out for me and was Man of the Match by a long way was Jack Whatmough. Faultless and commanding throughout , even to the extent of bailing out Clarke on two or three occasions by superb covering. It made me wonder why there is all the fuss still about Clarke, when under our noses it Whatmough who is the most likely to attract bids.
In fact I am a great admirer of Clarke but I thought he had a particularly shaky first half yesterday and only above mentioned covering by Jack saved them costing us a goal.

Our back 4/5 have been integral to our success so far this season. Clarke and Whatmough could easily play in the Championship, and hopefully will be doing so, with us, next season. My man of the match was Ronan Curtis. I thought he was incredible yesterday.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Always gratifying to see a large number of away fans go home unhappy on an especially long trip.

Also...23 games and the halfway point. Only 2 losses, a + 20 GD and a nice fat cushion away from the play off slots...although Blunderland have a couple in hand they gotta go and win them.

Also also....we are 4th in current form over the last 6 and the last 10 matches......not bad considering the recent opponants