There’s no doubt that Pompey improved in the second half, and if we ‘won’ the first half in terms of balance of play, then the second 45 just belonged to them. That’s not a huge surprise, as we had minimal options from the bench, and they brought on Ronan Curtis, once rated as the brightest young talent in the division, and Joe Pigott, a player I’d love to see in our squad. They then added Dane Scarlett, a man many thought would be loaned into the Championship, so they had fresh legs across the front. We don’t have the depth of quality, and therefore I can understand how they improved as the game wore on.
Not that they tore us apart – it was fairly balanced, but they had the better chances, especially in the final few minutes. For the main part, the second period was a dull affair, but not the ‘Cambridge-style’ dull that sends fans home bored. In my eyes, it was a hybrid of the draws against Bolton and Ipswich, and the draws with Charlton and Cambridge. We did attack, we did have chances and we could, with a lucky bounce, have won the game. This came against a side that should be better, who should be creating more and who should have had us clenching our bum cheeks in the stands. They just didn’t. It felt like a game that was always about to go off but never did. You know when you light a firework on Bonfire Night, and stand back expecting it to go off, but it never does? That was the second half.
There was a brief flurry of activity, not least when Danny Mandroiu hit the bar with a speculative effort. Charles Vernam came on and gave us a bit of something different. he attempted two shots that were seemingly never going in, but both forced the keeper into saves that led to corners. I actually felt their keeper looked a bit ropey, and that surprised me as it is former Arsenal man Matt Macey, who had an impressive spell with Plymouth a couple of years ago. The Vernam efforts looked like they should have been dealt with much easier, but they just weren’t.
We began to ride our luck late on; they had the ball in the net but were flagged offside, and Colby Bishop skied a shot after two simple headers split our defence in two. Other than that, I never felt they’d score, and despite us hitting the bar and testing Macey, I never really felt we would either. It’s a 0-0, but not as we know it (MK Dons, Cambridge, Charlton). If I’d paid actual cash, and not had a season ticket, I’d have felt I’d got my value, even if we hadn’t got goals. It’s a point, one we fought for, one we earned and one that keeps us where I think we probably should be – 14th.
I didn’t think there was a bad performance across the whole team. It was workmanlike; we huffed and puffed, created a couple of half-chances, and soaked up a bit of pressure. It’s hard to go too deep into it because not every game is reflective of the journey we’re on. Not every game defines a player, a team or a manager. Not every 90 minutes of action tells a story. This was that. It was a run-of-the-mill game that became part of a run but was relatively forgettable. It didn’t really have anxiety and tension, it wasn’t crucial, and in a year’s time, it will just be one game in a run of unbeaten home matches or another game in the 650-minute (and counting) run during which we’ve conceded a single goal. In fact, we’ve only conceded one goal at home in a 11v11 game since November 19th – we’re solid, and that’s the starting point for all good, successful teams.
I do think Mide Shodipo had a decent game; he showed some lovely technique, and one cross late on was begging for someone to take a chance on it. He put four crosses in during the second period, and I felt if we were going to get joy from the flanks, it’d be him providing the ball. I thought Ethan Erhahon had a solid game as well, not as obviously solid as the last two games, but for a third 90-minute plus outing in eight days, he showed great energy right through to the final whistle. Also, a huge shout out to Paudie, who was solid once again. I know there’s a lot of (in my opinion unjust) criticism of our recruitment, but in Paudie, we’ve clearly signed a centre-half who’ll (touch wood) play 40+ games, who wins most of his headers (80% yesterday) and can steady the back four during moments of pressure. Thus far, he is the signing of the season, without a shadow of a doubt, and kudos to the recruitment team for that.
It’s like Mark Kennedy said on the live podcast a couple of weeks ago – these sorts of results are often defined by what comes before and after. This is a good draw if we take four points from Forest Green and MK Dons. If we take two (or, heaven forbid, fewer), then people get edgy. Personally, I came away yesterday perfectly happy; we’re still hard to beat, we’re still competing toe-to-toe with clubs whose budget is much bigger, and we’re still tucked nicely into midtable. On the way out of the ground, I overheard someone discussing the game, saying that it was ‘two teams who are neither going up nor down’. Three weeks ago, I didn’t feel that about us, but I must confess, I feel much more comfortable than back then, and an ability to contain forward lines that have goals in them is just one reason why that’s the case.
Yesterday was a draw, another, meaning we’ve drawn more home games this season than any other in history. However, two of those seasons in which we drew 11 were 2003/04 and 2005/06, both seasons that were followed by even better, more successful campaigns. However, the other two seasons were 84/85 (successive relegations followed) and 2008/09, which was the first season of decline that eventually led to the non-league stint. I guess that only proves we’re on the cusp of something here at Sincil Bank. What it depends on how full or empty your proverbial glass is. I’m not sure I can recall a single season in which the same set of results and performances could be spun either for the positive or negative. We’re unbeaten at home, but only won three. We’re hard to beat but don’t create enough. We’ve signed loan players who are not impacting the team, but we’ve signed permanent players who look to be huge improvements on the players they’ve replaced. It’s black; it’s white. It’s yin; it’s yang. It’s half empty; it’s half full.
Mine glass is half full – here’s a to more draws, more well-earned points and midtable stability we should all applaud as an achievement in a league full of big budgets, big egos, big reputations and underachieving so-called giants.
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