| There was little new
year cheer to be found at Fratton Park, as Pompey began 2023 with a defeat
against Charlton and finished the game with 10 men. Connor Ogilvie had provided some hope on the stroke of half-time by cancelling out Jesurun Rak-Sakyi’s opener. But Scott Fraser restored the Addicks’ lead just after the interval and Marlon Pack was then dismissed for a second bookable offence. The Blues did their best to fight back, only to have their hopes dashed by an unfortunate Owen Dale own-goal. Danny Cowley made three changes from the side that were unlucky to be held to a draw by Ipswich three days earlier. Joe Pigott, Dane Scarlett and Ronan Curtis all returned to the starting line-up, with Josh Koroma and Colby Bishop dropping to the bench, the latter having hurt his rib against the Tractor Boys. Skipper Clark Robertson missed out completely with a hip injury, so fellow defender Sean Raggett took the armband. There was a minute’s applause before kick-off to allow everyone inside the ground to pay their respects to football legend Pelé, who passed away earlier in the week at the age of 82. Both sides looked to get forward once the action started and Michael Morrison fired an ambitious effort over after combining with Curtis on the edge of the box. Curtis then found space to burst forward and hit a deflected shot that forced Ashley Maynard-Brewer to dive to his right and make the save. But it was the visitors who broke the deadlock midway through the first half after stealing possession in the middle of the pitch. George Dobson then combined with Corey Blackett-Taylor to find Rak-Sakyi, who cut onto his left foot and bent home a neat finish. The goal stunned Pompey and they were guilty of some sloppy play in an attempt to get back into the contest. And it was the Addicks looking more likely to add to the scoring, with Josh Griffiths using his leg to deny Miles Leaburn after pushing away Fraser’s cross. But the Blues started to click back into gear as the interval approached and Scarlett drew a smart stop from Maynard-Brewer after being slipped in by Zak Swanson’s threaded pass. The keeper was involved again in stoppage-time, this time parrying the ball behind after Dale’s effort had taken a wicked deflection. And the equaliser came from the resulting corner, as Curtis’ delivery was nodded back by Raggett for OGILVIE to hook into the net. |
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Portsmouth 1 Charlton Athletic 1 |
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| Cowley made a triple
change at the break, as Pigott, Scarlett and Curtis were replaced by
Bishop, Reeco Hackett and Michael Jacobs. But Pompey almost immediately found themselves behind again after Albie Morgan had intercepted the ball in the centre circle. He quickly played it to Fraser, who surged into the area and found the bottom corner of the net from a tight angle. It might have got even worse for the Blues soon after, as a free-kick from the same player bounced down off the underside of the bar and hit Griffiths. Somehow, though, the ball did not manage to cross the line and the keeper was able to gratefully smother it. Tempers then boiled over following a challenge from Dobson on Hackett, with both players shown a yellow card by referee Tom Reeves. Pompey were trying to find a way back for the second time and Dale’s effort was blocked after he made a clean connection. But their task was made much more difficult when Pack – who had been booked a few minutes earlier for a foul on Fraser – brought down Morgan and was dismissed. Cowley brought on another midfielder on 74 minutes, with a fit-again Jay Mingi replacing centre-back Morrison. And another attacking switch saw Swanson make way for Koroma, leaving the hosts with just two defenders on the pitch. The hosts were certainly doing their best to find an unlikely leveller, committing plenty of men forward as the rain began to fall heavily. Their best chance came when Charlton failed to properly deal with a Jacobs free-kick, although Koroma could only fire his shot straight at Maynard-Brewer. The display of six additional minutes provided some hope among the Fratton faithful, but the visitors wrapped things up with a fortunate goal. Blackett-Taylor teed-up Dobson and although his shot was saved by Griffiths, the ball ricocheted off Dale and flew into the net. Referee: Tom Reeves |
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Updated - 10/12/2023 |
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