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Pompey conceded early in
each half as they were beaten by an in-form West Brom side at Fratton
Park. Josh Maja’s effort stunned the Fratton faithful, although their side responded well and dominated most of the first half. But Alex Mowatt doubled the Baggies’ advantage shortly after the interval and then fired in a fine free-kick in stoppage-time. John Mousinho made three changes from the side beaten by Sunderland before the international break. Josh Murphy was handed his debut, while there was also a first outing of the season for the fit-again Tom McIntyre. Paddy Lane was the third change from the starting line-up that faced the Black Cats, as Sammy Silvera, Matt Ritchie and Ryley Towler all dropped to the bench. Plenty of fans were still settling into their seats when West Brom took the lead – with the goal timed at just 54 seconds. Tom Fellows cut the ball back for the prolific Maja to rifle his fifth goal of the season into the roof of the net. It might have got even worse soon after, but Norris watched a Fellows curler fly safely wide of the post. Pompey’s response, however, was fantastic and they soon began to cause plenty of problems of their own. A series of corners from Andre Dozzell had to be dealt with by the Baggies, while Alex Palmer just about beat Murphy to Marlon Pack’s superb ball over the top. The skipper’s long throw then caused chaos, but Christian Saydee was immediately surrounded by defenders and his effort was blocked. But the host were left fuming on 28 minutes when what looked a clear foul by Torbjørn Heggem on Zak Swanson went unpunished. West Brom almost poured salt into the wound, as Fellows shot narrowly wide following a quick break. Will Norris then came to the rescue, somehow managing to claw away Maja’s close-range header before the whole of the ball could cross the line. It was still Pompey looking the most dangerous side, though, and a Swanson centre flew agonisingly behind Saydee. Connor Ogilvie then rose well to meet a Dozzell cross in stoppage-time, but could not keep his header down. Half Time: Pompey 0 West Brom 1 The Baggies went looking for another quick goal after the restart, although Norris was not overly troubled by Jayson Molumby’s effort. But the Blues did fall further behind soon after, as Mowatt swapped passes with John Swift and bent home a fine finish. Another goal might have quickly followed, as an effort from Maja was deflected just over the crossbar. Pompey almost got one back after breaking quickly from a corner, as Murphy’s attempt flashed narrowly wide. That was his last involvement, though, as Mousinho freshened things up with a triple switch just past the hour mark. Lane and Dozzell also made way, as Harvey Blair, Silvera and Abdoulaye Kamara were given an opportunity to impress. The visitors also made a couple of changes, with former Fratton favourite Jed Wallace one of the men to enter the fray. Mousinho made another throw of the dice on 75 minutes, as Saydee was replaced by Elias Sørensen, while Regan Poole then made his long-awaited return, coming on for McIntyre. But Pompey were unable to find the spark they had shown before the break and West Brom were comfortably seeing out the closing stages. And the visitors even added a late third goal, courtesy of a fine free-kick from Mowatt that left Norris with no chance. |
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