Match Thread: Portsmouth v Lincoln City | Page 19 | Vital Football

Match Thread: Portsmouth v Lincoln City

markhonesmagicstuds said:
Eventbrite never sent my ticket, so I had to buy another and missed the first 10 mins.
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My ticket also did not arrive by post. Turns out Royal Mail tried to deliver , not in , but they didn't leave a card. Anyway, i phoned Portsmouth ticket office and they were very helpful. They said they could print me the ticket again which I collected on arrival.
 
But - 'we were better than that result' has become a constant theme recently. That needs dealing with before we become 'too good for relegation'.[/QUOTE]

And again it is an appropriate sentiment. Having had a long journey home to think about it my over riding thoughts are that actually it was a poor game between two average sides. Watching the game my eyes and head told me there was nothing between these two sides and the match stats (other than the only one that matters) support that.

Neither goalkeeper was overworked and those suggesting we were the 'better side' need to remember that Portsmouth sat very deep in the second half, protecting their lead and given the pressure on both them and their manager ahead of the game it was easy to understand why.

In terms of the 3 people who seem to be generating comments, I actually thought Connolly looked very good at centre half and had a decent game against a good player at that level (even with his temperamental show-pony tendencies).

Payne is becoming incredibly frustrating to watch. There is enough promise to always keep you encouraged that he is going to then make something happen. The problem last night is that all his better moments were in the middle third of the pitch as opposed to the opposing third. However there was no end product at all from him last night and every time the board went up both my friend and I said "that's got to be for Payne" only for the number to be different and for him to (remarkably for me) last the full 90 minutes.

It is similar with Akinde. There were times last night where he looked terrific and a real handful - but usually this was nowhere near the Portsmouth penalty area. There were also times where he seemed incapable of just controlling and holding onto the ball or executing a simple 5 yard lay-off to a team mate.

All in all a very frustrating night and yet another away game that we 'could' have got something from. Next couple of games are just beginning to look a bit more important now as getting little from these would make that "too good to be relegated" a little more relevant.
 
Frustrating night. We had a couple of great chances first half that we really should have taken. I hope Harry and Hesketh start to impress Appleton in training because we really do need some options off the bench when Plan A isn’t working.

Overall though we’ll be fine. Appleton needs time to get his ideas across and we could do with January coming around ASAP.

All it leaves is us fans to stick with them through this rough patch, although judging by some of the comments I’ve seen about Connelly, even that’s too much to ask.
 
RedImp73 said:
But - 'we were better than that result' has become a constant theme recently. That needs dealing with before we become 'too good for relegation'.
Click to expand...

And again it is an appropriate sentiment. Having had a long journey home to think about it my over riding thoughts are that actually it was a poor game between two average sides. Watching the game my eyes and head told me there was nothing between these two sides and the match stats (other than the only one that matters) support that.

Neither goalkeeper was overworked and those suggesting we were the 'better side' need to remember that Portsmouth sat very deep in the second half, protecting their lead and given the pressure on both them and their manager ahead of the game it was easy to understand why.

In terms of the 3 people who seem to be generating comments, I actually thought Connolly looked very good at centre half and had a decent game against a good player at that level (even with his temperamental show-pony tendencies).

Payne is becoming incredibly frustrating to watch. There is enough promise to always keep you encouraged that he is going to then make something happen. The problem last night is that all his better moments were in the middle third of the pitch as opposed to the opposing third. However there was no end product at all from him last night and every time the board went up both my friend and I said "that's got to be for Payne" only for the number to be different and for him to (remarkably for me) last the full 90 minutes.

It is similar with Akinde. There were times last night where he looked terrific and a real handful - but usually this was nowhere near the Portsmouth penalty area. There were also times where he seemed incapable of just controlling and holding onto the ball or executing a simple 5 yard lay-off to a team mate.

All in all a very frustrating night and yet another away game that we 'could' have got something from. Next couple of games are just beginning to look a bit more important now as getting little from these would make that "too good to be relegated" a little more relevant.[/QUOTE]

Agree 100% with all of that.
 
Imps2018 said:
Just got back, and not too disappointed with that. I would say 9/11 of our players had good matches, 1 was marshalled out by good defending and 1 never got an opportunity to show his strength.

Vickers looked good again, not much to do though.

Defence looked strong. We look most likely to do something when Toffolo and Eardley get forwards. Glad Connolly had a good game, I did think a game where we’re on top would suit him at CB. Also glad Shackell proved I have no idea what i’m on about as I questioned him a while back.

Morellos was fantastic. O’Connor should be in with a shout if NI squad if that’s his normal performances. Payne needs more in front of him but his running and general being a pain in the other teams ass is invaluable to us. Andrade was kept quiet by their RB who I thought was quite good.

Akinde was fantastic I thought, won most headers. For me his overall game is actually better than Walker’s. Walker is the better goal scorer but offers very little outside the box - and we’re struggling to get it into the box.

Stadium was good, worth the trip and thought their fans were decent (just the other end of the pitch to us). Heard Alan Long dealing with a couple of complaints which was good to hear.

Their goal seemed offside from where I was but i’ve been told that ifollow showed it onside. Not convinced though. Was told we should have had a penalty just before the goal too. In general the ref was appalling from my very biased view. Should have had a penalty from a corner in 2nd half but they just had to claim something and they would get the decision. Still waiting for that linesman to make a decision. He’d wait for the players to have already played on before he raised his flag. We were perhaps the better team overall.

They were quite average for this league from what i’ve seen. Other than their number 6 who was fantastic and their number 15 who kept Andrade quiet which is no easy feat. Can’t see them getting promoted with that team. Marquis is quite dramatic and didn’t seem a £2million striker.

Our fans I thought were fantastic other than drunken guy who was abusing their family stand but you always get that person. Great changing throughout the match.

Overall, enjoyable experience. A decent result considering what I would have expected start of the season. Just disappointing because on the day we could and should have perhaps won that.
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Bloody hell mate did they have another match on a big screen that you were watching.
If Akinde was fantastic I really wouldn't like to see him when he has a poor game.
I would agree that some individuals had decent games but it's all about scoring goals and at the moment you cant see where the next ones coming from.
 
It was an average game that we probably should have got something from based on the clear chances for Connolly and Akinde in the first half.

Our play was tidy but not especially threatening except when Andrade had the ball.

Neither side looked anything better than mid-table though I suspect Portsmouth are better than that and just going through a bad time, though it's impossible to say when you only have one look at the opposition.

Again, though, I'll make myself a hostage to fortune and say that won't be won't be involved in any sort of relegation battle.

The reason for that is simple enough; goals conceded. We've let in 20 in 15 games but six of those were an aberration against Oxford when they kept scoring with worldies.

Since Appleton took over (I absolutely, positively refuse to call him "MApp") we've let in 5 in 5 games with two clean sheets. Keep that up and we will not possibly be in any sort of trouble.
 
clanfordimp said:
Bloody hell mate did they have another match on a big screen that you were watching.
If Akinde was fantastic I really wouldn't like to see him when he has a poor game.
I would agree that some individuals had decent games but it's all about scoring goals and at the moment you cant see where the next ones coming from.
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The whole team, other than Andrade didn’t look like scoring. I thought we were most likely to score when Akinde won the ball or got a flick on. Walker was anonymous and Payne did well until the edge of their box when he ran into a wall of blue.
 
clanfordimp said:
Bloody hell mate did they have another match on a big screen that you were watching.
If Akinde was fantastic I really wouldn't like to see him when he has a poor game.
I would agree that some individuals had decent games but it's all about scoring goals and at the moment you cant see where the next ones coming from.
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What was your view on Walker?
 
I think Walker is your typical goalscoring poacher of a centre forward. With the right service he will score a lot of goals as he is a natural finisher. I don't think the problem is him at all. I think the problem is still a style of play that doesn't get the best out of him - and it won't change all that quickly when the manager has openly said his first priority is to make us more difficult to beat, something that has led to him becoming more isolated again.

The issue is the players around him and the service into him. It was interesting to see us put Akinde up with him last night although difficult to know after one rather average game if that is going to be a more regular thing.

I would quite like to see Grant given a game in the Payne/No10 role as think he is better suited there than out wide. Quite like to see Hesketh maybe given a game out wide as well. I know lots want Anderson back, but I think it's become clear that Appleton doesn't really rate him.
 
RedImp73 said:
I would quite like to see Grant given a game in the Payne/No10 role as think he is better suited there than out wide. Quite like to see Hesketh maybe given a game out wide as well. I know lots want Anderson back, but I think it's become clear that Appleton doesn't really rate him.
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Agree about Grant.
I think, over time, it may become apparent that Appleton doesn't rate many of them. I don't know the contract situation, but I reckon we may see a big change in the summer.
 
Chimpimp said:
What was your view on Walker?
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As Redimp73 says he's a goal poacher.
I dont think he's particularly skilful and wont create his own chances but if he gets the right service he will put the ball in the back of the net.
To me hes a bit of a luxury because I would want my centre forward working a lot harder than he does but if he's scoring 20 odd goals per season a manager will work round that.
The trouble at the moment, as collingham has said ,we are not creating opportunities for him to get on the end of.
 
plumbob said:
Agree about Grant.
I think, over time, it may become apparent that Appleton doesn't rate many of them. I don't know the contract situation, but I reckon we may see a big change in the summer.
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Off memory, I think quite a few will be out of contract.
 
Very frustrated at the moment. If we got points for artistic merit and being pleasing on the eye , then we would be much higher in the league. However we don't look like scoring despite good possession. Walker and Akinde played together as if they had never met before. Payne had some good moments but kept being crowded out and running into traffic. Bruno was the sharpest of the forwards. The rest worked well with good midfield patterns and a competent defence and keeper. I was particularly pleased to see that Connolly did well. They were so much bigger as a team and mainly threatened from set pieces. They also went down at the slightest contact and the ref fell for it time and time again. We clearly deserved a point , but this keeps being a repeating pattern where we are pleasing to watch, but lack a cutting edge. The jury is out for me and the season could go pear shaped, or we finish in a comfortable position. We have to start winning games at the Bank again, or our poor away form could drag us in a downward spiral.
 
PWould said:
Very frustrated at the moment. If we got points for artistic merit and being pleasing on the eye , then we would be much higher in the league. However we don't look like scoring despite good possession. Walker and Akinde played together as if they had never met before. Payne had some good moments but kept being crowded out and running into traffic. Bruno was the sharpest of the forwards. The rest worked well with good midfield patterns and a competent defence and keeper. I was particularly pleased to see that Connolly did well. They were so much bigger as a team and mainly threatened from set pieces. They also went down at the slightest contact and the ref fell for it time and time again. We clearly deserved a point , but this keeps being a repeating pattern where we are pleasing to watch, but lack a cutting edge. The jury is out for me and the season could go pear shaped, or we finish in a comfortable position. We have to start winning games at the Bank again, or our poor away form could drag us in a downward spiral.
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Just beat me to it!
 
plumbob said:
Agree about Grant.
I think, over time, it may become apparent that Appleton doesn't rate many of them. I don't know the contract situation, but I reckon we may see a big change in the summer.
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Only Bolger, Akinde and Adebayo-Smith definitely contacted beyond the summer. Anderson, Grant, Payne and Bradley's contacts are of undisclosed length (although as Anderson's was extended, it probably is until the following summer I would think).
 
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