That was a strange game, I didn't think Portsmouth were that good neither were we that bad. Draw would have been a fair result. Completely lost our heads for 5 minutes and that was it, got in plenty of good positions in the 2nd half but on the whole our final ball was poor. Pompey were terrified of our direct running through the middle, so it was frustrating to see us constantly play it wide so many times later on.
Stevens - 5 - I was right behind the 3rd goal, and it was a bad mistake, he shifted to the left and got it all wrong, it was obvious where the strike was going as soon as it left his foot. His kicking has improved massively recently though.
Mcnally - 7 - Some of his runs were great and his defending was good. He's bloody good for his age and a much better defender than Atkinson was, and a goal to boot!
Long - 5 - Struggled with the physicality of their front 2, I personally thought his high foot challenge in the second half was a red card and it came from his own mistake.
Brown - 6.5 - Did alright, some good challenges and has got a great left foot, always looks like he has a mistake in him but he's been solid so far.
Williams - 7 - Had a great start to the game then Pompey double up on him, he had no support and I felt sorry for him, moved to LWB in 2nd half and looked more comfortable.
Kane - 6 - First 30, good! Middle 30, rubbish! Last 30, good! He's a top top player in a 3 but I'm not sure if our 3-5-2 suits him, he gets his foot on the ball and dictates play, you can't really do that in a midfield 2. Mistake for the 2nd goal.
Brannagan - 6 - Not his best game for sure, looked tired but he still has an influence on the game. Our best player in the final 20 minutes
Seddon - 4 - His confidence is down the drain, hid away, took the easy option and got outmuscled. I'm not too sure what has contributed to this (tired?) but let's hope he can get back to his best because at the moment he's looking a worst defender than Ruffels was (some achievement!)
Holland - 6 - I actually thought he did alright and a lot of our openings came from him, assist for the first, no protection from the ref (more on him later)
Browne - 6.5 - Awesome first 30 but noticeably tired, that direct running at defenders is such a weapon we need to use more and I'm excited to see him back fully fit, hope his injury isn't too bad!
Taylor - 5.5 - He's winning nothing against their back 3 but he had no help from his teammates or ref in that aspect, thought he got better as the game went on.
Baldock - 7 - Clever player, some great touches and dropped deep in the holes to give us an option in the middle, noticeably improved the team when he came on. Starts Saturday.
Whyte - 6 - Did well at RWB but it's too deep for him to have a meaningful impact on the game
Forde - 6 - Not really a chance to influence things but did provide two of the best crosses of the game.
The ref - No words to describe how bad that performance was, guessed everything, got everything wrong. You could tell in 10 minutes he was out of his depth, it's such a shame his performance will get talked about more than a decent L1 game.
The supporters - Good atmosphere overall and certainly no racist chanting, but these "Oxford boys on a bender, ________ is a sex offender" chants , what are they about? seriously? Leave it to the likes of MK and Wycombe to chant these. Notice they come from a younger generation so the likelihood of it stopping is slim.
Stevens - 5 - I was right behind the 3rd goal, and it was a bad mistake, he shifted to the left and got it all wrong, it was obvious where the strike was going as soon as it left his foot. His kicking has improved massively recently though.
Mcnally - 7 - Some of his runs were great and his defending was good. He's bloody good for his age and a much better defender than Atkinson was, and a goal to boot!
Long - 5 - Struggled with the physicality of their front 2, I personally thought his high foot challenge in the second half was a red card and it came from his own mistake.
Brown - 6.5 - Did alright, some good challenges and has got a great left foot, always looks like he has a mistake in him but he's been solid so far.
Williams - 7 - Had a great start to the game then Pompey double up on him, he had no support and I felt sorry for him, moved to LWB in 2nd half and looked more comfortable.
Kane - 6 - First 30, good! Middle 30, rubbish! Last 30, good! He's a top top player in a 3 but I'm not sure if our 3-5-2 suits him, he gets his foot on the ball and dictates play, you can't really do that in a midfield 2. Mistake for the 2nd goal.
Brannagan - 6 - Not his best game for sure, looked tired but he still has an influence on the game. Our best player in the final 20 minutes
Seddon - 4 - His confidence is down the drain, hid away, took the easy option and got outmuscled. I'm not too sure what has contributed to this (tired?) but let's hope he can get back to his best because at the moment he's looking a worst defender than Ruffels was (some achievement!)
Holland - 6 - I actually thought he did alright and a lot of our openings came from him, assist for the first, no protection from the ref (more on him later)
Browne - 6.5 - Awesome first 30 but noticeably tired, that direct running at defenders is such a weapon we need to use more and I'm excited to see him back fully fit, hope his injury isn't too bad!
Taylor - 5.5 - He's winning nothing against their back 3 but he had no help from his teammates or ref in that aspect, thought he got better as the game went on.
Baldock - 7 - Clever player, some great touches and dropped deep in the holes to give us an option in the middle, noticeably improved the team when he came on. Starts Saturday.
Whyte - 6 - Did well at RWB but it's too deep for him to have a meaningful impact on the game
Forde - 6 - Not really a chance to influence things but did provide two of the best crosses of the game.
The ref - No words to describe how bad that performance was, guessed everything, got everything wrong. You could tell in 10 minutes he was out of his depth, it's such a shame his performance will get talked about more than a decent L1 game.
The supporters - Good atmosphere overall and certainly no racist chanting, but these "Oxford boys on a bender, ________ is a sex offender" chants , what are they about? seriously? Leave it to the likes of MK and Wycombe to chant these. Notice they come from a younger generation so the likelihood of it stopping is slim.