Chapter 1: What were the initial challenges faced by Portsmouth in the match?
After a tough build-up already before a ball was kicked at Loftus Road, with Portsmouth posting financial losses and on a poor run of form, it could not have been a much worse opening half-hour for head coach John Massinio.
It took his side only seven minutes to concede when a poor touch from Swift gave up the ball in midfield and Harvey Vale's deflected pass found Smyth, who fired home with the help of a deflection from 20 yards.
Colley doubled the advantage with a peach of a 30-yard strike that squeezed past keeper Nicholas Schmid before Smyth ran through the middle onto another Vail assist, to calmly slot in a third.
Swift lifted Pompey Spirits briefly by pulling one back with a fine finish from outside the area that crashed in off the post, but the visitors lacked the clinical edge of QPR despite having 20 shots to QPR's 9 and 33 touches inside their box.
Unfortunately for the travelling Portsmouth fans, their nightmare afternoon continued as Collie's second came in the 55th minute, when he burst past his marker and drilled in from a tight angle to restore the three-goal cushion.
Kone then converted from the spot after Colby Bishop's challenge on Escudena was penalised in the 86th minute, and he then sealed the emphatic victory moments later from another Vail assist following up a fast break. John Massino is asked how and why we got thumped 6-1.
I think the why is something that we have to... dissect over the next couple of days, figure out what went wrong in terms of the way that we set the side up in terms of team selection, etc. And that's something that we have to take responsibility for. And I think in terms of the how, look, obviously, we conceded three goals in quick succession really early on.
And every single goal, we're always going to pick the bones out of goals and say, you know, that's a poor goal to concede. There's never going to be good ones to concede. But yeah, they felt particularly poor today. considering the importance of the game and the nature of the game. We gave ourselves a bit too much to do.
I think we got back in the game with that goal just before half-time and I had that belief that if we got another, if we did get the next goal, the game would change. But unfortunately, we had a bit of pressure at the start of the second half. We had a very good opportunity that went over the bar and next thing you know, the ball's in the back of the net from Kupi Al being very, very ruthless.
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Chapter 2: How did QPR establish their lead in the first half?
So yeah, there's loads to unpick. I think in the moment we know that what we've produced today isn't anywhere near good enough and if you come away from any game losing, any game losing by this margin then you know you've got a lot of soul searching to do. That's just something I think we'll keep to ourselves at the minute I think.
The positive is for me that everybody has been talking, but it's my responsibility. It's my responsibility in terms of how we've set the boys up today and what we've produced. It always is. That's why I'm speaking to you after the end of the game. That's why head coaches and managers are the ones that get hired and they're the ones that lose their jobs.
That's something that I need to take everything that I've spoken about and heard in there and hopefully turn it into something positive. I think that where we've struggled recently is scoring goals, obviously. I think that we've had a lot of control of games where we've probably felt like we've had a lot of possession. We drop down and we connect really well.
We get the ball in some wide areas, but no real impetus in terms of getting in the box. And I think Ibu gives us that energy. He gives us that energy to stretch in behind and to really connect with the centre forward. So that's why we do what we do. I think he's picked up a knee injury, so we're going to have to see how that one plays out, but he's just icing it in there at the minute.
How big a blow would that be?
It would be massive. We need every player at this stage, so with how good Ebu's been, it would be a real blow. I don't think there's any hiding behind the fact that when we went over there, first of all to thank them for their support because they didn't deserve that. There's certain times and I think there's certain players and staff that will go straight down the tunnel.
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Chapter 3: What factors contributed to Portsmouth's struggles in the match?
That's not us. We've got to take our medicine. What was said during the game, what was said after the game, we've got to live with it. We can't go and enjoy... away wins at Millwall and away wins at Charlton without actually wanting to take it on board. We didn't want to hide away from it. My message to the fans would be that we're not sitting in there saying that's acceptable.
We're not all patting ourselves on the back and moving on. and we know that something needs to change. There's a big, big element where we know at this football club the fans can play a huge part in what we're trying to achieve towards the back end of the season.
Ultimately, the fans will always play off and feed off what we give them on the football pitch, which today was obviously far from good enough. So we need support. There's no side that's ever got themselves out of a relegation battle without support.
understand the understand the anger understand the frustration I'm never going to hide away from it absolutely spot on and I'll take it I'll take it on the chin that's why I wanted to go over because ultimately it's my responsibility John Massino speaking 45 minutes or more after the game ended against QPR
It's mentioned because he normally spends a few minutes in the dressing room after each game talking to the players, probably en masse, maybe one or two quick words with individuals.
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Chapter 4: How did Portsmouth respond to being down 3-1 in the game?
And then he goes out and has to do endless interviews such as that one that he conducted there in a very reasonable frame of mind, it seems to me, very well balanced. his usual thoughtful articulate self with a great deal of precision and courage in reflecting that mistakes were made and many of them were his.
in the way he set the team up with Adams as a number 10 and Swift playing behind him, marrying up with Marlon Pack. And Swift doesn't offer the same kind of resolution that Adams does. And Adams doesn't have the same kind of potential guile that we brought Swift in to reproduce, to give us.
he was 45 minutes talking to the players after the game it came out and what was said is going to stay in the dressing room that suggests that one or two home truths might have emerged might have rendered the air blue if not black and blue. We'll only find out when they come back from their many breaks, which we gather the players and staff are all considering just having a few days off.
And after the hectic and demoralising run that we've been on, it's the right thing to do. It's the professional thing to do. Clear your head and blow out your pipes. and maybe have a couple of late-night bevvies on evening number one, but then getting back to your carefully constructed diet and nutritional needs within two or three days of having to report and have a quick medical.
I guess they will have to declare or show how fit they are when they return from a wee break such as the one that they're getting now. And we don't have any football now for 12 days. And so that is 12 days for us to brood, to kick the cat, to be metaphorically, and to worry.
basically and if you want to hear a man who's worried make a point of listening to Mick Robertson's excellent always excellent thoughtful podcast about QPR 6 Pompey 1 which is available on Pompey Sounds podcast platform go to your own podcast provider and put in Pompey Sound and Mick and I think this one's called Mick semicolon no way back
marlon pack on the qpr defeat there were moments we couldn't control there is a bit of innocence in the team at times especially being away from home but i think it's a hard one to digest right now straight after the game when it feels a lot worse the supporter response was justified completely justified and we have to take that the lads already know what it means to them as a football club they pay their hard-earned money they travel in numbers home and away our supporters deserve more than that
We have a lot of making up to do we apologize to the fans. They follow us through thick and thin and probably had an understanding that we haven't been too far away, with today being the final straw and having that buffer with the fans.
They were rightly vindicated in their reaction, and it hurts to see it like that the boys are hurting a lot, and we have to get back to being hard to beat, this was actually a realization that we are in a relegation battle.
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Chapter 5: What did John Massino identify as key mistakes after the match?
We are in a relegation fight. And if nothing else at all, and there is absolutely nothing else, so this is all we can take from it, it is that we are all aware now that we're about 50-50, maybe even shorter than that, to go down. So the fight begins. Let's start hearing the great escape.
hummed and sung at Fratton Park because we're getting our noses in front and we're getting there and we're going to escape.
It was the worst display we've put in for a long time and I just didn't see that coming. Performances have been way better than that recently, even if the results haven't necessarily gone our way. We were just very poor on the day and ultimately got punished for that. We had a long conversation about it afterwards.
The response at 3-0 was actually quite good and we got the goal back, but you can't wait for that to happen. It was the worst display we've put in for a long time, and I just didn't see that coming. It was a perfect summary of the day when we applied pressure and had chances at the start of the second half, then suddenly the ball's down the other end and in our net.
I thought the decision late on wasn't a penalty in a million years and it was mentally too much to take for some of the lads. It's been a very tough period for us and yet we still find ourselves outside of the relegation zone with a game in hand. The picture could obviously be better, but we are where we are and have to find a way to start picking up points again.
We've got a challenge on our hands and while we're all realistic about the situation, we always have to stay positive. We needed to thank them for their support, because they didn't deserve that, and we know it's unacceptable. We completely understand the anger and disappointment they felt, nobody here is hiding away from that.
You've got to take your medicine after a performance like that, and the fact that the players all went over does show that they care.
The words of John Massino there, and it was unacceptable. In that, 6-1 is humiliating. What a long journey back, albeit only from South London, but still two hours back down to the South Coast.
Two hours to think about that, well into the evening, not getting home till half seven, eight o'clock, probably calling into a corner store on the way back and picking up some refreshment to, well, just kind of soften the blow really, I think perfectly legitimate.
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