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Pompey’s fine run of form at
Fratton Park finally came to an end as they were narrowly beaten by
Millwall. The home side had most of the ball, but Mihailo Ivanović’s strike late in the first half ultimately proved the difference. John Mousinho made four changes from the side heavily beaten on the road at West Brom at the weekend. Defender Hayden Matthews was handed an immediate debut after arriving from Sydney FC the previous day. There were also returns for Freddie Potts, Josh Murphy and Callum Lang, who were all rested at The Hawthorns. Ryley Towler, Andre Dozzell, Terry Devlin and Christian Saydee made way, while Thomas Waddingham had to be content with a spot on the bench after scoring on his debut. The visitors made a bright start and only a contender for miss of the season prevented them taking an early lead. Aaron Connolly sent the ball across goal, but with the net gaping and from just a few yards out, Ra’ees Bangura-Williams somehow fired wide. It was Pompey on top for much of the first half and they created plenty of positive moments in the final third. But all too often, the ball just would not land for them in the box and there was plenty of frustration at not being able to turn their dominance into clear-cut opportunities. A 20-yard attempt from the lively Murphy was comfortably dealt with, while a superb cross from Matt Ritchie ended with Lang spinning and firing over the bar. Their best chance arrive on 24 minutes when Murphy delivered a low ball towards Colby Bishop in the box. But the striker could not make a clean connection and the follow-up from Ritchie was well blocked by Joe Bryan. Lang then rose to meet a fine Connor Ogilvie cross from the left and his firm header was held by Liam Roberts. But it was the Lions who broke the deadlock on 40 minutes, racing quickly up the pitch when a Blues attack broke down. Bangura-Williams made up for his earlier miss by sliding an incisive pass through for Ivanović to calmly slot past the advancing Nicolas Schmid. The hosts tried to hit back and a Ritchie corner caused all kinds of problems, while Isaac Hayden was denied a penalty after going down under George Saville’s challenge. Half Time: Pompey 0 Millwall 1 There was a fast start to the second half from the Blues, but yet more frustration as a ball into the mixer from Murphy would not land kindly. A corner from Potts then caused problems before being scrambled clear, as pressure continued to be applied. But for all their control of possession, Roberts was not being given an awful lot to do between the sticks. Murphy skipped past a defender with ease down the left and his teasing centre was nodded wide by Ritchie. Mousinho made a switch on 67 minutes, replacing Hayden with Dozzell in the middle of the park. The new man soon had a chance to level, but could not convert Ritchie’s cross and then saw his follow-up effort blocked. Two more changes followed on 78 minutes, with Waddingham and the fit-again Conor Shaughnessy on for Ritchie and Matthews. Saydee also replaced Zak Swanson, as Pompey continued to throw everything they had at their stubborn visitors. But Millwall remained resolute at the back in the closing stages to escape the south coast with all three points. |
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