Lincoln City were humbled at home in the first second division fixture at the Bank in 60 years, and came away with more than battered pride.
The shiny new-look Sincil Bank hosted the largest crowd for a league game since December 1982, but the gloss was swiftly removed as Pompey bagged two first-half goals. Despite us fighting back to 2-1, they added a third in the second period.
That third came after record signing Andrei Coubis gave the ball away from right back, an unfamiliar position. He was forced into an early appearance after Tendayi Darikwa came off injured. He went down five minutes into the second half, and despite getting to his feet, was seen leaving the ground on crutches.
When asked post-match if it was serious, head coach Tom Shaw suggested that it must be something if the former Forest man is leaving the pitch.
“It’s going to be something because Tendayi is a tough fellow,” he told assmebled press.
“Whenever he wants to leave the football pitch, we’re hoping it’s nothing too serious.”
It felt like the game was affected by Tendayi heading off the field, but Tom felt it didn’t change much: City still couldn’t get going.
“The flow of the game was pretty similar, even after he went off, we were trying to find our rhythm, trying to find a way to get into the final third and stay there, which we couldn’t quite get going.
“Then, obviously, the third goal was a great strike with a little bit of an error from us.
“Hopefully Tendayi will be okay. Fingers crossed on that one.”
There are options for City. It seems as though he’ll be out for the Blackpool game, but that would be widely expected. Josh Honohan didn’t make today’s squad, but he should be in contention to replace Darikwa, while both Coubis and Tom Hamer can play there.
Either way, after an injury-free campaign last time out, it is concerning to see City’s captain coming off so early in the season, with another game against a side in our ‘cohort’, Bolton, up next weekend.
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