Pompey’s last match was Saturday’s victory at Fleetwood, while their most recent home fixture was against the same opponents all the way back on December 15. So it is a welcome return to Fratton Park – albeit, sadly, without fans – for the first of three successive matches on the south coast. Clashes with fellow promotion hopefuls Hull and Lincoln are to come, but it is AFC Wimbledon providing the opposition this evening. While the Blues have a spot in the division’s top two on their mind, the visitors are more concerned with trying to escape the drop zone. A single point has been collected from the Londoners’ past seven league fixtures to send them tumbling down to 21st position. The only light in that gloomy run of results was last Tuesday’s victory at Bristol Rovers, which leaves Glyn Hodges’ troops just two wins away from a trip to Wembley in the Papa John’s Trophy. Dons fans were left breathing a sigh of relief when the previous season was halted with their side sitting a single spot above the dreaded dotted line. That campaign included a 2-1 defeat at Fratton Park, with Marcus Harness and John Marquis both on target for Pompey. TEAM NEWS Harvey White could make his Pompey debut after the midfielder completed a loan switch from Tottenham. Ronan Curtis is also available again following a period of self-isolation, but Alex Bass (calf) and Paul Downing (hamstring) are both missing. AFC Wimbledon will be without Ben Heneghan (hamstring) and Terell Thomas (illness) for their trip to the south coast. HEAD TO HEAD* Overall Pompey: 17 wins Wimbledon: 14 wins 9 draws At Fratton Park Pompey: 11 wins Wimbledon: 4 wins 5 draws *Includes matches against Wimbledon FC OFFICIALS Referee: Trevor Kettle Assistants: Justin Amey and Michael Chard Fourth Official: Brett Huxtable BETTING Pompey are the 1/2 favourites with VBET to secure all three points, while the visitors can be backed at 6/1.
AFC Wimbledon: 1 Sam Walker 2 Luke O'Neill 5 Will Nightingale 3 Daniel Csoka 7 Chey Alexander 4 Alex Woodyard 33 Callum Reilly 12 Jack Rudoni 18 Nesta Guinness-Walker 29 Ryan Longman 39 Joe Pigott Substitutes 8 Anthony Hartigan 11 Ethan Chislett 13 Nikola Tzanev 14 Zach Robinson 16 Jaakko Oksanen 19 Shane McLoughlin 30 Paul Kalambayi
Pompey 3-0 up at half-time after a good first half performance, with goals from John Marquis from a Callum Johnson cross (28 mins), Ryan Williams with a superb shot from a John Marquis lay off (36 mins) and Sean Raggett with a header from a Michael Jacobs free kick (44 mins). We thoroughly deserve the lead, and appear to be in complete control so far. Looking forward to hopefully a few more goals for us in the second half
Half-time Match Stats:- Home Team: Portsmouth .........Away Team: Wimbledon Possession: Home 59% Away 41% Shots: Home 9 Away 3 Shots on Target: Home 5 Away 0 Corners: Home 1 Away 3 Fouls: Home 2 Away 5
This was a match that I was a little bit worried about given that Wimbledon in the past, particularly in the mid 80s gave us many a headache, literally and metaphorically so I was not going to take this game for granted. On the face of it, it seems a very good performance by Pompey. Perhaps the standout feature being there were four different scores from 4 different assists. I don't know if this suggests an expansive game by Pompey. In a future game, I would love to see Pompey play with a false number 9, a la Manchester City. It would be fun to see a front four of Williams, Curtis, Harkness and Jacobs.attacking the penalty area from all angles. iIt would confuse the opposition centre back pairing in not knowing who to pick up.
Final whistle, and it's 4-0 to Pompey. Second half goal well taken by substitute Ben Close in the 89th minute. Second half substitutions for Pompey were Ronan Curtis for Michael Jacobs (64 minutes), Ellis Harrison for Andy Cannon and new boy Harvey White for John Marquis (both 70 mins), and Ben Close for Ryan Williams (83 mins). For Wimbledon - Paul Kalambayi for Luke O'Neill (64 mins) and Zac Robinson for Ryan Longman (78 mins).
Final Match Stats:- Home Team: Portsmouth ........Away Team: Wimbledon Possession: Home 58% Away 42% Shots: Home 15 Away 9 Shots on Target: Home 7 Away 1 Corners: Home 2 Away 7 Fouls: Home 11 Away 14
