Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho believes Lincoln City will enjoy plenty of success in the Championship after watching his side claim a 3-1 victory at Sincil Bank.
Pompey arrived in Lincolnshire without a point and out of the cup following successive 3-1 defeats against West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers, but produced a clinical away performance to earn their first league victory of the season.
City made a positive start and applied early pressure, only to fall behind after seven minutes when Ryan Kavuma-McQueen finished following good work from Abu Kamara. Adrian Segecic doubled the visitors’ advantage nine minutes later, leaving the Imps with a considerable task despite their encouraging opening.
Reeco Hackett reduced the deficit from the penalty spot after Zak Swanson’s handball, giving City hope before half-time. However, Portsmouth protected their lead after the break and Ebou Adams completed the scoring with a powerful strike in the 69th minute.
Mousinho, who has been Portsmouth head coach since January 2023, was relieved to see his side respond following their difficult opening fortnight.
“I’m delighted with the result. That was the most important thing today after a disappointing opening couple of weeks of the season.
“I thought the performance was very good in a lot of aspects. We had to deal with the threat from Lincoln and the way they play, which is very effective. I think a lot of sides will struggle here, so I was delighted with the way we stood up to it.”
Lincoln finished with 15 attempts and an expected goals figure of 2.32, compared with Portsmouth’s 13 shots and 1.21 xG. The Imps also repeatedly tested the visitors from set pieces, but were unable to find the second goal that might have changed the direction of the contest.
Mousinho felt Portsmouth deserved credit for withstanding that pressure, particularly given the threat Lincoln had already shown against Derby County and Middlesbrough during the opening weeks of the campaign.
“We had to deal with that relentless pressure from long throws, corners and free kicks, with the ball coming into the box at most opportunities. I’m convinced Lincoln will have a lot of success this year because they are difficult to play against.
“I saw it last week against Middlesbrough and the week before against Derby, so I’m under no illusions that it was a very solid performance from the lads. I’m very pleased overall that we got through it.”
The result left City without a point from their opening two Championship fixtures, despite producing competitive performances against Middlesbrough and for 60 minutes against Portsmouth.
There will be brief respite now as the Imps face Blackpool in the League Cup, before a tricky trip to Bolton on Saturday.
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