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Mark O’Mahony’s second goal
in as many games was not enough to Pompey their first victory of the
season, as Oxford fought back to secure a point at Fratton Park. An early chance to gain the lead was not taken, with Elias Sørensen’s penalty saved by Jamie Cumming. O’Mahony eventually did find the net after the break, but Louis Sibley came off the bench to level the contest. John Mousinho made four changes from the side that were heavily beaten at Stoke earlier in the week. Summer signing Nicolas Schmid was handed a debut between the sticks, with Will Norris making way. There were also opportunities for Jordan Williams, Sørensen and Christian Saydee, as Zak Swanson, Harvey Blair and Paddy Lane all dropped to the bench. Former Fratton loanees Owen Dale and Dane Scarlett were both named among the substitutes for the visitors. There was an early opportunity for the hosts when Regan Poole swung in a dangerous delivery, but Josh Murphy could not connect at the back post. And they were quite literally handed the chance to break the deadlock by their opponents a few moments later. Saydee tried to lift the ball into the mixer and Will Vaulks stuck out his hand, leaving referee Lewis Smith with an easy decision to make. Sørensen stepped up to take the penalty, but Cumming got down low to his left to make a smart stop. Pompey did not let their heads drop and continued to apply pressure, flooding plenty of players forward. They might have conceded on 14 minutes, however, with Mark Harris horribly miskicking as he tried to convert a Rúben Rodrigues cut-back. There were half-chances as the Blues tried to find a route through at the other end, with efforts from Sørensen and Freddie Potts failing to find the target. Oxford then took advantage of a lucky ricochet to burst forward through Idris El Mizouni, whose low shot was diverted around the post by the fingertips of Schmid. Pompey, meanwhile, finished the half with plenty of the ball, but despite staying patient, they were struggling to find a way through to test Cumming. The keeper did have to make one save just before the break, although was not overly troubled by Poole’s attempt at the back post after meeting a Marlon Pack corner. Half Time: Pompey 0 Oxford 0 Saydee caught a shot cleanly on the half-volley straight after the restart, although the ball flew straight to Cumming. A Tom McIntyre header was also comfortably dealt with as the Blues looked to get at their opponents from the start. And they did make the breakthrough on 58 minutes, thanks to some good work from Murphy against his former club. He burst down the left and sent in a cross that O’MAHONY stooped to meet with a deft header that found the bottom corner. Rather than sit on their lead, the hosts continued to attack, not giving their beleaguered opponents time to settle. O’Mahony had another opening after racing onto Saydee’s neat pass just past the hour mark, but the bounce was not kind and he could only fire into the side netting. Scarlett was brought on by the visitors as they went in search of an equaliser, but it was another substitute who drew them level on 72 minutes. The visitors broke away and the ball ran for Peter Kioso, who laid it off for the onrushing Sibley to lash past Schmid. Pompey were left wondering just how they did not level soon after, though, when Cumming fumbled a Saydee shot. The keeper recovered well to then deny Sørensen before O’Mahony’s follow-up attempt was cleared from the line by Ciaron Brown. And when the resulting corner was met by the head of Connor Ogilvie, his header appeared to come back off the post. O’Mahony was brought off on 79 minutes, with Blair brought on to add some fresh legs to the forward line. But the hosts had a huge let off when Siriki Dembélé raced clear on goal, with Williams doing just about enough to put him off. It was then Pompey’s chance to grab a late winner when Murphy’s low centre was diverted towards his own net by Kioso, only for Cumming to get down and make a smart save. They fought hard in the closing stages in a desperate search for a winner, but Oxford held on for a share of the spoils. |
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