Carlisle

[No Shot Sherlock]

Isn't it refreshing to be winning games in added time rather than losing them.

[Pompey55]

Possibly one of our worst games of the season but a sign of a good team that we can keep going and score a late goal
I feel it was a mistake starting with Anjorin as he contributed very little yet again and is well off the pace at this level and Kamara had a poor game on the left
Maybe why not play Ogilvie and Sparkes together on the left and start with Saydee who made a difference when he came on

[jam tomorrow]

We escaped one today these sort of games are good to get out of the way however a good sign, I think the lay off may have affected our play today although JM thought the players needed the rest. If I was a Carlisle fan I would be gutted although we should have put this game away before halftime.

[NSRailings]

Massive relief at the end. I thought Shaughnessy was close for motm before his goal. Kamara showed some good touches and skill sometimes but is too laid back too often and needs to work harder. Tino didn't show enough and credit to Mousinho for subbing him early in the 2nd half - Saydee really should've started though.

Strange that we were better in the first half than the 2nd and Bishop should've had a couple in the first. There was something missing in the midfield (Pack) and we were too slow and careful in attack at times. Some of the players seemed to lack confidence. I still think Bishop is given too much to do on his own. A great save from Norris is worth a mention.

But it just goes to show - never leave before the end! Thought the support was pretty good as well. A little frustration late on but overall some good noise.

[jam tomorrow]

Shaughnessy proving to be the bargain of the season together with Sparkes, Poole and Norris

[RubiconCSL]

Brilliant.

[Blue Walter]

I agree that pickpocket Morrell was man of the match but Shaughnessy was very close behind him. I thought he was very impressive today with his defending and the way he bought the ball forward out of defence, with a couple of good through balls that should have brought more reward. And, of course, he scored the winning goal. Before anyone reminds me that Shaughnessy was one of the players that I considered as 'average' he has proved to be very much above average. Sparkes too had a good game and thougherly deserved to keep his place. Some very good crosses and proves his worth in forward positions.

I think that we deserved to win today as we should have been out of sight by half time. The second half was a bit more even but I do think we just about shaded the second half as well, although I do think that Carlisle used the weather conditions better than us with the wind behind them. I think we were basically wingless today with Lane & Kamara pretty disappointing which didn't help our cause but we still managed 18 attempts with 8 on target.

I sense the magic has gone out of our play recently and we are plodding a little bit. Perhaps the team needs a little bit freshening up with the way we play becoming predictable to our opponents. Carlisle didn't 'park the bus' and we nearly let them off the hook.

[pompeygunner]

We escaped one today these sort of games are good to get out of the way however a good sign, I think the lay off may have affected our play today although JM thought the players needed the rest. If I was a Carlisle fan I would be gutted although we should have put this game away before halftime.

I'm not sure we escaped anything tbh. Based on our 1st half performance we could/should've been out of sight. Deserved win overall.

[Blue Walter]

We escaped one today these sort of games are good to get out of the way however a good sign, I think the lay off may have affected our play today although JM thought the players needed the rest. If I was a Carlisle fan I would be gutted although we should have put this game away before halftime.

I'm not sure we escaped anything tbh. Based on our 1st half performance we could/should've been out of sight. Deserved win overall.

I agree, and I would also add that it was Carlisle United almost 'escaped'. On the Carlisle fans forum site there are comments about how unlucky they were and how they really should have won the game. There is no mention that they got away with a hiding in the first half where Pompey really should have gone in three goals to the good. I would agree that the second half, in isolation, was a lot more even and they did create chances that were not taken, even unlucky not have scored. However, in context of the whole game Pompey deserved to win and, perhaps, by a larger margin.

It has to be said though that against a better team we would have probably lost yesterday and I wonder if we are going through a little dip. The last two or three games we haven't been quite so good. Against Port Vale we were far from convincing but we still found a way to win. If this is our 'dip' it is not a bad one to have.

[NSRailings]

A shout out to the sausage rolls as well

[meakinsl]

A shout out to the sausage rolls as well

Meat pie, sausage roll, come on Pompey give us a goal !

[Betelgeuse]

I don't know what was up with Kamara in the 2nd half but he seemed reluctant to take on his man ands get crosses in. Carlisle were pressing and we didn't have control, if nothing else they are obviously a very fit team.
I'm hoping Tino comes good, in hindsight it was a good thing that we went for Robertson as he's turning out to be terrific, Tino is taking a while to get used to this league. I think when we get Pack back we'll improve and get control of games. My main concern is that we're not scoring too many goals considering our form, the only midfielder to score has been Pack so far.