Blackpool v Pompey weekend/match report
The short walk to the ground (well done again Ken!) was like a step through some ‘crazy dream’ with every pompey fan seemingly dressed as Elvis, wearing some form of fancy dress, silly hat or wig! (Who won the competition then Chris?) It all helped to generate an atmosphere by the travelling fans that would turn out to be a bit special. From the moment the ground started to fill - to long after most home fans had gone, the travelling fans never stopped singing - clearly enjoying the occasion. However once again, (and I seem to write this all to often), the home fans created no atmosphere and were quite frankly pathetic! Where has all the passion and singing gone from football grounds these days……?
The game started and the first major chance came to Blackpool with a free kick from the left that was crossed in and seemed to beat everybody including Henderson. Thankfully it was disallowed for offside. The game continued with both teams fairly even. Blackpool probably had the lions’ share of possession but they found a Pompey rear guard that was again on top form. Pompey chances throughout the game largely seemed to be about breaking with pace on the counter-attack, with both Futacs and Hesklopp keeping busy with plenty of running. Any chances through the midfield seemed to come through Etuhu but he seemed lacking any real pace and his short runs seemed to end with plenty of promise but no end product. Lawence too - on a number of occasions seemed to get beaten easily and just ‘give up’ then not chasing the player - quite the opposite to Mullins who looked ever competitive in the tackling. Normally not my favourite player - but looked solid in midfield.
The half time was fast approaching with the game remaining a pretty even contest - somewhat surprising considering the league positions and form guide. However Blackpool were proving to be not quite so ‘unbeatable’ - an opinion that had been vehemently exclaimed by a ‘slightly inebriated’ Blackpool fan on the train journey down! Just as we were waiting for the halftime whistle, came the opening goal - a short cross from the right was not cleared and Hesklopp found the ball at his feet and with a quick turn - beat the goalkeeper. The travelling fans erupted as the Pompey players came over to celebrate in front of the cheering blue army masses.
There was little time for the match to get going again before the half time whistle and a standing ovation from the travelling fans (not that we ever sat down!)
The second half began with a fans’ display of unity and support about the plight of the financial miss-management within the club. As the second half started, the vast majority of the travelling fans turned their backs to the game for two minutes, with a rousing rendition of ‘Appletons blue and white army’. Some clan members who will remain nameless couldn’t resist a peak at the action - going on behind them though! Whilst some may see it (as what it was) something that will have little affect in the grand scheme of things, it did offer the fans a chance to collectively express their togetherness under the spotlight of live tv cameras - and certainly gave me a lump in my throat….
The second half was largely about missed chances for Pompey, firstly Hesklopp and Futacs beat the offside trap with two on one but wasted the pass/shot effort - clearly in two minds. Then Futacs had an effort that brushed the post beating the keeper to his left. However the pressure from Blackpool was unsurprisingly building and it was possibly not surprise when those chances to extend the lead came back to haunt us. A weak free kick was won against Halford just outside the right side of the area - with the resulting shot a sweetly taken curling shot in the top corner - which gave Henderson no chance at saving. Finally the home fans came to life… temporarily (within a few minutes, normality was resumed). Now on the pitch with added impetus, it was now set up for a Blackpool win and it was only a good diving save by Henderson late on that denied them that luxury.
The final whistle was met by great cheer - whilst it felt as though we had let two points slip away, in reality it was a good result away from home against an inform team. As the teams left the field - It was great to see so many players coming over and applauding the travelling fans and throwing various parts of clothing into the stand! I’m sure a large does of admiration was drifting pitch side towards the stands.
As previously mentioned, long after the home fans had made for the exits, many travelling fans were still on the terraces singing and dancing. It had the air of last day ‘staying up’ celebrations - a bit extra special. Eventually we made our way towards the exit and I saw a number of the grounds’ stewards standing in awe, smiling and clearly impressed by the fantastic support - even by Pompeys’ standards it was something else.
And so began operation Blackpool night life commenced! The clan unfortunately got fragmented into different bars and restaurants around Blackpool, but eventually many of us rejoined in a pub back near the hotel to suffer the ‘delights’ of karaoke. Whilst much cajoling took place - I refrained from such inappropriate behaviour! The beer flowed long into the night, as did the Pompey chimes - much to the eventual annoyance of the table of ladies next to us in the pub, who all took the the matter of karaoke a bit too serious! Highlight of the evening was probably Jims’ singing and Jim, Steve and Simons’ dancing! Oh dear lads……!
Overall an enjoyable weekend I think was had by all - and the game was pretty damn good too!
Brian Brooks
Chelsea v Pompey match report
Chelsea v Portsmouth, FA Cup Third Round, 8th Jan 2012
The walk from Fulham Broadway tube station to Stamford Bridge provided an illuminating moment about the opposition for the travelling Pompey fans. How many other football clubs have hot food vans selling roast pork baguettes and smoked salmon? The other point to note was the sheer quantity of stewards Chelsea had laid on to prevent us from interacting with their fans. Two solid lines of yellow jackets extended from the away fans’ entry point to the road outside the stadium, forming a gauntlet that took several ticket checks and a continual threat of frisking to negotiate. It seemed our reputation had come before us!
Inside the stadium and the away end was packed out, as was the rest of the ground. Needless to say the 3,000 Pompey fans had no trouble making more noise than 37,000 Chelsea supporters throughout the afternoon! The team line-ups revealed that Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas had paid us the respect of opting to play the strongest team that he could given the absences of Drogba and Kalou to the African Cup of Nations, and Daniel Sturridge to injury. For Portsmouth, Luke Varney was still not fit, but Ward and Halford returned from suspension. Michael Appleton opted to go for a 4-4-2 formation, albeit a quite defensive one as front men Dave Kitson and Marko Futacs would spend much of the game behind the ball.
The match started with real excitement for the Pompey fans as in the first thirty seconds Kitson found himself with just the keeper to beat but only managed to pull his shot wide. From then on the game settled into a pattern with Chelsea having most of the ball and zipping it around on the ground. Pompey however, appeared comfortable, if occasionally stretched, and still offered some threat going forward, After 20 minutes all Chelsea had to show form their superior possession and territory was a header from Torres that was saved easily enough by Henderson. Torres was as petulant as I remembered from observing him playing for Liverpool at Fratton Park a couple of years ago – continuously moaning to anyone who would listen. At one point Aaron Mokoena brushed against him by the touchline and he threw himself to the ground. Nobody, not even his own team-mates, paid him any attention whatsoever, and he eventually got up and carried on!
The rest of the half continued in much the same vein with Pompey holding Chelsea off with surprising ease and Pearce and Rocha doing very well at the back. Lampard burst into the box and Henderson saved at his feet, but Chelsea were beginning to resort to long shots and crosses from deep that normally consisted of Malouda blasting the ball high and wide. Pompey hadn’t created much since the first minute but were causing Chelsea a few problems down the wings from time to time. 0-0 at half-time and Pompey were very comfortable.
Unfortunately, all this went to pot straight after half-time. Ashley Cole bundled the ball through to Malouda and he got in behind the defence and pulled the ball back for Mata to slam home. Straight after the goal I could see on the replay on one of the big screens that the Pompey defence had been claiming that Cole had handled. He was probably guilty as charged but the referee hadn’t seen it and the slight hesitation had given Malouda the space he needed.
Following this Pompey didn’t crumble and produced our best moment of the match. Kitson dispossessed David Luiz and poked the ball through to Futacs. He had a shot saved by Cech and the ball came to Joel Ward who headed the ball goalwards only to see it blocked on the line by John Terry. David Norris then blasted a shot towards the corner only for Cech to recover and save it. Terry was down injured after this, having collided with the post. He received some magic spray while the Pompey fans delivered a loud rendition of the Pompey Chimes and ‘Terry’s going to prison’ but sadly he was ok to play on after a few minutes. Later in the game he managed to plant his studs in Ward’s chest but the ref only gave him a yellow card.
On the terraces, Portsmouth fans were having a great time making much more noise than Chelsea’s legions. An amusing moment came when some of the home fans roused themselves enough to sing ‘Stand up if you hate Tottenham’ and Pompey fans immediately joined in and upped the volume considerably.
The score remained 1-0 until the last 10 minutes. At this point Appleton decided to go for it and altered the tactics and formation. First he replaced Mullins with Huseklepp on wide left and pushed Lawrence into the middle, and then he took off Rocha, who may have had a knock, and replaced him with Williams (centre-half for right midfield).This left Pompey with three at the back in a very attacking 3-5-2 arrangement. The manager probably had this switch planned from the start as the two players at full-back, Halford and Mokoena, are much more comfortable in the middle. The change looked like it might pay dividends as Pompey started pressurising Chelsea’s defence with a series of crosses and breakaways that Chelsea were just about managing to deal with.
The game was up however with five minutes to go as Ramires stabbed home a loose ball in the box to make it 2-0. A killer blow. Two minutes later and it was 3-0 as Pompey refused to sit back and Ramires was played in by Torres on the half-way line to run through and lift a quality shot into the top right hand corner. Deep into stoppage time, Lampard managed to find space on the edge of the box to stroke home a fourth and make the score look incredibly harsh for Pompey. The gamble had not paid off but at least we had had the guts to try to hit back rather than accept a 1-0 defeat in a cup match. It was a game that we could quite easily have drawn or even won on another day, despite being up against one of the top Premier League sides, so pride was very much intact. However, the day out was over and there will be no trip to Wembley this season, unless of course a play-off final materialises!
John Whitaker
Burnley v Pompey match report
A bitterly cold, frosty morning greeted our early train extravaganza from Glasgow (Ed. Carlisle) southwards towards Burnley. The clan were on their travels again! For some, a considerable task with up to four separate train journeys - starting and ending in the early hours! Never the less, on route - a hearty full English breakfast, a noteworthy rant over Preston stations’ lack of toilets and a considerable dousing of beer - all aided in keeping spirits high on our traveling adventure. After our final train leg - a tediously slow crawl of a journey - through the ‘picturesque’ Lancashire landscape - we eventually arrived at a damp and dreary Burnley.
Pre-match pub banter predominately centred around every football fans’ tried and tested dilemma of head verses heart. On paper - Burnley came into the game in good form and would certainly have fancied their chances against Pompey without a win away all season. It suggested a recipe of head over heart with many predicting a low score draw or close burnley win....
The match itself was largely a nullifying ordeal - with neither side producing many real goal scoring threats. Pompey demonstrated some neat one touch passing at times and some positive play - yet repeatedly found wanting in the final third. Burnley looked a shadow of the pre-match form guide and looked very average. The game continued on the field with plenty of huff and puff yet little purpose - whilst noise a-gusto rang from the Pompey fans, unsurprisingly berating the lack of noise from the home fans and reminding everybody of the forthcoming derby match!
At the half time whistle - many fans had already made an early exit to the refreshment stands to ‘beat the queues’. By then the air had turned decidedly colder - as the old habits of foot-stamping and hand rubbing became visible by anybody still braving the half time stands’ lowering temperature.
The second half continued largely in a similar vain to the first. Chances of witnessing a goal were few and far between - with shots taken from long range or threat stifled before reaching the box. It seemed any snap shot by either side had little chance of stretching the net. The game had an air of nil-nil written all over it. One moment of note and one of the best chances came when Pompey were clearly denied a penalty when the Burnley player hand-balled jumping high with arms flaying to block a cross. The referee was not interested - much to the unsurprising vehement frustration of the traveling fans.
And so the game played out its course - with end to end football - yet it never seemed to feel like their would be an end product by either side. Pompey continued to have good possession and neat passing with the majority of the attacking threat down the left. Burnley threat seemed largely to be more direct through the middle and at set pieces - but nothing ever looking too troubling for a stout Pompey rear-guard.
And so the game neared it’s end. Watches were checked and re-checked. A draw was mentally prepared for - not a bad result by the form guide but Pompey would have felt a little aggrieved having had the better share of chances and play. However all that was to dramatically change - as Norris fired in a late low shot to left of the Burnley keeper and send the traveling fans in a late burst of delirious enjoyment and increased noise. Could this be the away win we so badly craved? We didn’t have to wait long, for the simple answer was to be YES - as Burnley had next to no time to reply to the opening goal.
It was difficult to pick a man of the match as the whole team seemed to have a reasonably good game - so instead I’m going to dedicate the ‘man of the match’ award to google maps and the iPhone for being the saviour of the day!
And so we witness the highs and lows of being a football fan. Both sets of fans would have been content with the draw for different reasons - yet the blue army went home with smiles on their faces, sore throats and warmth in their hearts, whilst the fans donned in Claret - could only exclaim excuses of ‘a bad day at the office’.
Bring on the scum...
Brian Brooks
Ipswich v Pompey match report
We had most of the possession and won most of the one to one battles around the pitch. I haven’t read any newspaper reports yet, but I would say that nobody was poor with the exception of the awful defending for their goal. The defence really hadn’t had much to do to at that point in the game and that is why they were opened up so easily and attackers not closed down. I couldn’t tell you who the offending players were but the defensive mix up happened on our left side.
After we went down a goal we changed from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2, we bought off Rocha and bought on Eric and then soon after Kanu came on for Kitson and we also made a defensive substitution and took off Lawrence but I couldn’t tell you who came on. It was a frantic 10 minutes at the end but as had been the case throughout the game, lots of huff and puff and possession but no killer instinct and by this time, we never looked like breaching their effective defence. The result was an unfair 1 – 0 loss.
I came away really pleased that we had made an effort for both halves of the game and despite losing, we had been the better team throughout the game.
It was great to see Jan at the game although I think he had had significantly more to drink than me and waffled a lot!
Rob