Good result against a good side. I thought burgess and Doyle (?) were excellent and to be fair the goal seemed to come out of nowhere. We won't play many teams as good this season thank goodness! Woody seems to be coming into a good run of form, gape, Saunders and Luke were all excellent today. Sido is a bizarre combination of great and then 'what the ****is he doing???' De Hav did well when he came on, but I would have replaced bayo who put in a shift but was clearly struggling. I don't think Hayesy was abysmal but playing as a wing forward is a bit of a stretch these days. He would have been better playing the beast role today. Excellent three points after the disappointment at Exeter. Another unbeaten run please chaps.
@MindlessDrugHoover said:
Think Sido might have had a bit of a bollocking at half time (he was certainly getting one from Hayes in the first half) as he went from regularly getting out of position to completely owning their front line.
Bayo was very obviously struggling with his hamstring near the end but soldiered on well.
We won't play many better sides than that but everyone was up to the job. Superb performance and result. Saunders changed the game. What a talent we've got there. Ditto Gape, who is rapidly becoming my favourite player.
I think Sido may have been man marking a player (can't remember number) which explained why he was out of position at times. My mom despite a couple of Sido moments...
You have it spot on. We struggle with 433 against most teams as they fill the midfield with 4 or even 5 players and we get overrun. When Saunders came on for Hayes or balance was much better.
@SurreyWanderer It's a funny thing with Sido. I do want to highlight how Portsmouth played though to give him some sort of defence.
There were about 8 or 9 occasions during the first half when Portsmouth flooded the midfield.
They often had their two centre halves the only players back, and pushed their wing backs forward at every opportunity and I think they played fairly well in that first half. This means they had 8 players in attacking positions.
This is why Ainsworth had Kashket and Hayes playing as midfielders when they were attacking. These two were the people who were asked to put in a shift and give protection to sido and Jacobson.
They did ok, but I think Sido was exposed by a lack of support out there at times.
Thank you @SurreyWanderer that's how I saw it too. Sido is a cult hero of course and makes things happen going forward by he lacks the discipline of Jacobsen so will always be a liability defensively I'm afraid. Felt sorry for Gape as he spent half the match at right back.
I felt Gape's awareness and commitment to fulfilling his dual roles as defensive midfielder and cover for Sido on Saturday were very impressive. In the first half particularly, he had one eye on Sido throughout and as soon as Sido moved out of the right-back position he dropped into it. As soon as Sido returned to right-back, but not before (he stayed locked in position as right-back until Sido arrived unless an attack was happening that required immediate intervention) Gape then dashed off as quickly as he could to get back into his main position and close down the opposition.
For me, from our current squad, Gape is the player who looks as though he really could make it at Championship level or, if he keeps developing with experience, maybe higher.
Typically perceptive observations @Uncle_T. Some loan players lose their "edge" once they have secured a permanent contract; in Dominic Gape's case, he seems to me to have actually stepped up a gear. Terrific signing. He's cup-tied tomorrow of course so, if fit, I hope Michael Harriman gets his chance!
Gape's defensive awareness defies his young years, he has that same anticipation that both Micky Simpson and Josh Scowen possesed. As he gains expeirence, i can see Dominic taking games by the scruff of the neck, and becoming a top,top class player.
I think encouraging the defence to break quickly has been a mark of our approach this season - not just the full backs but Pierre and Stewart too. There's nothing quite like the sight of AP in full flight, and he seems to have the control to go with the speed and the bulk.
Agree completely about Gape - no longer one for the future, one very much for now.
@fame_46 also - All of the space on the counter attack was in theur full back positions. So if Pompey were caught out Sido is the best fella to expose that as the space was right in front of him. Great performance from gape too, totally agree.
Comments
Good result against a good side. I thought burgess and Doyle (?) were excellent and to be fair the goal seemed to come out of nowhere. We won't play many teams as good this season thank goodness! Woody seems to be coming into a good run of form, gape, Saunders and Luke were all excellent today. Sido is a bizarre combination of great and then 'what the ****is he doing???' De Hav did well when he came on, but I would have replaced bayo who put in a shift but was clearly struggling. I don't think Hayesy was abysmal but playing as a wing forward is a bit of a stretch these days. He would have been better playing the beast role today. Excellent three points after the disappointment at Exeter. Another unbeaten run please chaps.
I think Sido may have been man marking a player (can't remember number) which explained why he was out of position at times. My mom despite a couple of Sido moments...
@Watford_Blue Exactly what I thought. Man-marking their no 23
23 that's the one....
You have it spot on. We struggle with 433 against most teams as they fill the midfield with 4 or even 5 players and we get overrun. When Saunders came on for Hayes or balance was much better.
@SurreyWanderer It's a funny thing with Sido. I do want to highlight how Portsmouth played though to give him some sort of defence.
There were about 8 or 9 occasions during the first half when Portsmouth flooded the midfield.
They often had their two centre halves the only players back, and pushed their wing backs forward at every opportunity and I think they played fairly well in that first half. This means they had 8 players in attacking positions.
This is why Ainsworth had Kashket and Hayes playing as midfielders when they were attacking. These two were the people who were asked to put in a shift and give protection to sido and Jacobson.
They did ok, but I think Sido was exposed by a lack of support out there at times.
Thank you @SurreyWanderer that's how I saw it too. Sido is a cult hero of course and makes things happen going forward by he lacks the discipline of Jacobsen so will always be a liability defensively I'm afraid. Felt sorry for Gape as he spent half the match at right back.
I felt Gape's awareness and commitment to fulfilling his dual roles as defensive midfielder and cover for Sido on Saturday were very impressive. In the first half particularly, he had one eye on Sido throughout and as soon as Sido moved out of the right-back position he dropped into it. As soon as Sido returned to right-back, but not before (he stayed locked in position as right-back until Sido arrived unless an attack was happening that required immediate intervention) Gape then dashed off as quickly as he could to get back into his main position and close down the opposition.
For me, from our current squad, Gape is the player who looks as though he really could make it at Championship level or, if he keeps developing with experience, maybe higher.
Typically perceptive observations @Uncle_T. Some loan players lose their "edge" once they have secured a permanent contract; in Dominic Gape's case, he seems to me to have actually stepped up a gear. Terrific signing. He's cup-tied tomorrow of course so, if fit, I hope Michael Harriman gets his chance!
Gape is a very good player, and yet another exceptional signing by Gaz
Gape's defensive awareness defies his young years, he has that same anticipation that both Micky Simpson and Josh Scowen possesed. As he gains expeirence, i can see Dominic taking games by the scruff of the neck, and becoming a top,top class player.
I saw a fellow being nicked outside as I left...was there trouble around the away end?
thanks @sandsexile nothing idiotic and pointless leading to a night in the cells then...
I think encouraging the defence to break quickly has been a mark of our approach this season - not just the full backs but Pierre and Stewart too. There's nothing quite like the sight of AP in full flight, and he seems to have the control to go with the speed and the bulk.
Agree completely about Gape - no longer one for the future, one very much for now.
Agree @Wig_and_Pen and yet AP has been criticised on here for being no good on the ball...him or Stewart bombing forward is always a treat to behold.
They're decent, but both are prone to get a bit excited and overrun it, leaving themselves 40yards away from where they should be
@fame_46 also - All of the space on the counter attack was in theur full back positions. So if Pompey were caught out Sido is the best fella to expose that as the space was right in front of him. Great performance from gape too, totally agree.
Pierre is superb. We will really miss him if he does go and he is a different class to Stewart.
I think Stewart is the better all round footballer although he doesn't have the physical presence of Pierre.