Chapter 1: What recent events impacted Portsmouth's performance?
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Alfie Devine's goal ended Portsmouth's four-match unbeaten run and moved Preston North End back to the fringes of the play-off places. The Tottenham Hotspur low-knee headed in the only goal in a tight encounter to give the Deepdale fans only their second win in the last eight home league games.
The Lily Whites' new club record signing Callum Lang was not fit to play against his former club, who remain in relegation trouble despite their improved recent form. Portsmouth boss John Massinio was furious however, as referee Adam Herchegg failed to award a penalty after Jordan Story had clumsily brought down Adrian Sigecic just inside the penalty area.
Pompey travelled north with some confidence, despite a 53-year wait for a win at Deepdale, after last week's victory over West Bromwich Albion, and an unexpected midweek rest following the postponement of their fixture against Ipswich Town.
They also handed a debut to deadline-day signing Jacob Brown, and brought on Santos winger Gustavo Caballero in a squad revamped over the winter transfer window. They had allowed shot for a penalty, with Segecic seemingly fouled by Story, but the unsighted official waved it away, leaving Pompey players with heads in hands, and Messinho livid on the touchline.
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Chapter 2: How did Portsmouth's new signings affect the match strategy?
Preston's play-off push has been flagging but Devine got it back on track, seeing one deflected shot loop narrowly wide before he was unmarked to arc a header into the top corner from an excellent Andrija Vukcevic cross. .
Goalkeeper David Cornell ensured the lead was intact at half-time with a superb diving save from Andre Dozel, who claimed the winner when the sides met at Fratton Park in August. Pompey dominated the second half but largely wasted their 14 corners, and when they did get one right, Malenik Ali swung and missed when the ball fell at his feet 10 yards out.
Eboo Adams' header was cleared off the line Ali had another close-range shot blocked and then saw his cross fired over the bar by Mackenzie Kirk as Preston threatened to crumble under the siege. It intensified in added time as John Swift's in-swinging corner was tipped onto the crossbar by Cornell, and from the resulting set-piece, Connor Ogilvie's header was saved by the Preston keeper.
Preston debutant Andy Moran, on as a substitute, missed a great chance to settle it deep in added time as he raced clear, only for Pompey keeper Nico Schmid to sprint out and block his shot.
We were the better side, simple as that. Everyone who saw the game acknowledges it in their own way. The Lancashire Press, biased though they need to be, because they want to find favour with Preston fans, of course, said that it was a gritty display, which is shorthand for they rode their luck. And we didn't have any luck, but we had the game by the Short and Curlies.
14 corners, that says it all. Unfortunately, we wasted too many of them, but our average height going forward is about 5'9", not championship loftiness. Hopefully that is being corrected as the new squad takes shape. But we were the better side, even Paul Heckenbottom. And this is rare for a manager to kind of admit that they stole three points off us, but they did.
And John Massino seemed after the game to take comfort from the fact that we played well. And frankly, at this stage in the season, you'd rather be playing well and sometimes get cheated out of three points or even a point. than to play badly and nick a point or even nick a win.
Because although points on the table are important, if you're playing well, you're more likely to pick up a glut of points as the side is polished further and further. So all in all, disappointing result. And no points, of course, is disappointing. And our position in the league doesn't look good on paper, but the performance against Preston was excellent.
And so you can almost say that's five wins without defeat. Yeah, I mean, obviously, I know why we came away with nothing, because we ultimately didn't put the ball in the back of the net.
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Chapter 3: What controversial moments occurred during the game against Preston?
But it was certainly a game that, in the moment, and I think in reflection, we'll come away from thinking we definitely should have taken more from the game. We, I thought, controlled the game for large parts, particularly in the second half. I think Preston maybe had one shot, which was that one towards the back end when we were just completely open on the break.
But apart from that, I thought it was a very, very good display, apart from probably just putting the ball in the back of the net in Preston's box. I was really pleased with the performance. Obviously we've lost the game so I'm disappointed but I can't come away from the changing room with anything other than pride in the effort that the lads have put in on a very, very difficult surface as well.
I think we played at the right times, we went more direct at the right times and the performance on the whole was excellent. Preston had the opportunity, they put the ball in the back of the net from one moment where we were exposed and we didn't do the same. We had some really good opportunities. Some chances, yeah, a couple of really good chances.
I think in the six-yard box, I think Seggs had the one where he cuts in as well. So I thought it was more than enough. We've been guilty at times this year of not creating enough, but I don't think today was one of those. Penalty, I'll go and speak to the referee and just ask him his opinion because he ends up giving a goal kick. But yeah, it's a Stonewall penalty in my opinion.
I thought it would. I thought we looked more threatening from the set pieces as the game went on. Obviously, some disappointment in the deliveries. I think four of our corners went out for goal kicks, which needs to be better, particularly when they're in swingers. I know it's a difficult surface, but I still think we need to be better here.
And when we did put the ball in the box with some quality, we looked really dangerous. I think you've got to strip back, you've got to separate the two, look at the result, look at the performance.
The result was disappointing, the performance for the most part was good and if we keep coming away to sides at this level and perform as well as we have done here, once we get a couple of players back and once we add in terms of a little bit of creativity and a little bit of ruthlessness in the final third, I think we'll be fine. Yeah, we've just got a lot of big games coming up.
We've got sort of game after game in February. It's a very, very busy month, so it's disappointing we didn't get it off to a positive start, but yeah, we'll move on. I thought it was a really good debut, led the line well, probably restricted to a few chances, and then the plan was always to bring him off around 60.
Yeah, it was an encouraging 1-0 defeat, because their goal was a fluke, we could have scored a hatful, we only needed to convert one of those corners, and we didn't even come, oh no, we did come close a couple of times with those corners, but we haven't really got anybody to aim for.
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Chapter 4: How did Portsmouth's corner kicks influence the match outcome?
The record buy might be true, eventually, depending on games and things and depending on what you think we've paid for the previous record buy. But. It's close to it. And of course every purchase depends on payment terms. I have to say in both cases of the players we've brought in, that we have paid and committed seven-figure sums to. The payment terms are crucial in being able to do it.
Just as Mads going out was crucial to being able to do it. So there's a lot of moving parts. I read a lot of criticism from some supporters this week. Why didn't we do all our business the first week in January? Well, would I like to? Of course, but did I know Mads was going? No. Did I know Stefan was going? No. Did I know how much somebody would cost me to bring in? No.
Were they prepared to sell them to us earlier in the window? No. In fact, it took till half past four on Monday afternoon before we finally got a deal with Portsmouth in place. So the moving parts are complicated.
Chapter 5: What were the reactions to the referee's decisions during the game?
And of course, even if we'd done all the business in the first week of January, somebody would have shouted at me on transfer deadline day saying, why didn't you bring anybody else in on transfer deadline day? It's all part of the equation so I'm happy that once the window closed we'd brought in the players the manager wanted and he was adamant on day one that he wanted Callum.
I'm happy that we concluded the window with the players he wanted and to make way for those players coming in, we had to find a way to bring in cash for those players who weren't playing and starting every week. It was a transfer, wasn't it, which, and I've heard Rich Hughes use this phrase, had a lot of moving parts.
Obviously Pompey wanted to get as much money as they could for Callum Lang, what remained of his contract and his option. And I think Preston North End probably wanted to reduce his demands as far as wages go, because you do as an employer. And Ridsdale has made the point from time to time that wages were an important factor across the board at Preston in bringing changes to the squad.
So you can understand how Lange began to get a bit fed up with Pompey wanting more money, Preston probably offering him less and less because he showed them his hand. He made it absolutely clear he wanted a way and he wanted to go back to the North East. And Preston were about the only place that almost had the money and the desire. They had the desire to bring him back.
It was historic that they were interested in him. They wanted him. And they ended up getting him. And Pompey were pleased with the amount of money. And I suspect Ridsdale was pleased. with the kind of deal that was struck because I think it's going to be paid to Pompey incrementally.
But he was also pleased, I suspect, to have just reduced Callum Lang's wage demands a little bit to keep the club's head above the water. So, yeah, lots of moving parts. And you can kind of imagine Callum Lang going up the M6 and then having to turn round and head back towards Pompey and then having to turn round again and head up to...
towards Preston but it all came out in the end in the wash and we wish him well don't we I think so
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