Portsmouth Report Card

By: Dr Fishy
Date: 27/08/2002

IT'S a third defeat four Town, and a fourth game without a goal. It almost looked like a third 0-0 bore draw until the final few minutes, and if that had been the case, we would have gone home satisfied.

Coyne: Made a good fingertip save from Burton in the first half, but apart from that he wasn't tested. Some shots flashed wide of the goal, and of course there was the winner that Coyne could do nothing about.

Grade: C

McDermott: I think his first touch was a bad one, as he trod on the ball and let their midfielder have possession (with which he wasted because he too trod on the ball). Other than that it was a tidy performance from the captain.

Grade: C

Gallimore: This season he's displaying an ability to make sweeping passes to the other side of the pitch - successfully. He continued to dummy his long balls down the line and had his man in check for much of the game.

Grade: C

Ford: Not sure who was marking whom at the back, but I guess Ford marked the speedy Burton. Did such a good job I didn't realise the Jamaican was playing. Distribution can still improve, but overall he had a solid game at the back.

Grade: C+

Chettle: Won the majority of high hoofs down the line, but was frequently penalised by the referee for being too close to his marker. He came forward and threatened from set pieces, without much success.

Grade: C

Cooke: He had a very quiet first half, although he showed one of two neat touches. The second half was an improvement, and his link-up play was good. Quick one-touch passes seem to be his style, but a couple of his crosses were wayward.

Grade: C

Barnard: His delivery from set pieces in the first half was disappointing and he had a shot, which he ballooned. Unlucky to be booked when protesting over the free kick that was given against him just before the goal, because he had a very strong case.

Grade: C- (three games in under a week played a part in his performance)

Coldicott: He frequently made little touches and half-tackles that led to possession returning to Town, but this appeared to go unnoticed by the fans until he made one crunching tackle in the first half.

Grade: C+

Campbell: Not quite the box-to-box midfielder but this performance was surely his best of the season. He tested Hislop from long range and was always looking to shoot from outside the box. He put in one excellent cross in the second half that beat everyone.

Grade: B-

Groves: Reinstating himself into the centre of midfield might not have been a bad idea because that way he kept Merson in his pocket. Not all the time mind, but the majority. Groves was content to sit back and win the ball rather than pass it.

Grade: C+

Kabba: I feel sorry for this poor guy, coming in on loan and then asked to play up front without any support. It's a job he did well, but would have obviously been better with someone alongside him. He could be Jack Lester, but with a bit more pace.

Grade: C

SUBS

Rowan and Robinson were brought on too late to mark and too late to have an impact anyway. I believe that our cautious approach to the game should have been changed around after 30 minutes when we realised Portsmouth weren't all that devastating. But then we didn't have the personnel on the pitch to change things.

Grade Guide

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