Rescuing Portsmouth: The Richie Barker Regime

[pfeifere1]

24. August 2013
Newport County vs. Portsmouth
Rodney Parade

Newport County 1-3 Portsmouth

15' Shaun Cooper (Simon Ferry) - POR
21' Chris Zebroski - NEW
60' Patrick Agyemong (Yassin Moutaouakil) - POR
90'+2 Tom Craddock (Romain Padovani) - POR



Newport County gave Portsmouth all they could en route to a 3-1 defeat at home. Pompey would score early in the 15th minute as Simon Ferry would feed the ball to Shaun Cooper, the defender who is being used as a holding midfield role. Cooper took on one defender, pushed it wide and laced a shot from a minimal angle, but poor keeping allowed the ball to sneak in low to the near post. The lead would only hold for a couple minutes with Portsmouth conceding a goal for the first time this league season in the 21st minute. In what looked like a harmless free kick from just inside the Pompey half, the ball was played into the box with nobody in blue able to clear the ball. Eventually the ball fell to Chris Zebroski as he half-volleyed the ball into the goal, leveling the game at 1-1. A great spell of possession to start the second half led to Patrick Agyemong's 60th minute goal for Portsmouth. They were given the 2-1 advantage when Yassin Moutaouakil was able to gain the endline and send a cross into the fighting Agyemong, who powered a header into the net. For the second game running, it appeared as if Portsmouth would seal the game in the waning moments when Ricky Holmes drew the keeper out and laid it off for Tom Craddock, but Craddock thudded one against the crossbar in the 88th minute. Craddock would then make up for the unacceptable miss with a memorable first Pompey goal as Romain Padovani, again showing his super-sub ability, whipped a ball into the box that was just behind Craddock. The young striker was able to adjust his body and head the ball while falling backwards into the far post side netting for the 3-1 Portsmouth lead, securing all three points. Portsmouth are beginning to look like a huge aerial threat in the early matches this season, but will this be enough to keep them up in the promotion zone all season long?

Up Next: Johnstone's Paint Trophy Round 1 @ Swindon Town (1-1-2 4 pts, 17th in Sky Bet League 1)



24.8.2013

Accrington 1-0 Dagenham
Bristol Rovers 2-1 Bury
Exeter City 1-1 S****horpe United
Fleetwood Town 1-1 Rochdale
Hartlepool 2-0 Mansfield Town
Morecambe 1-1 Cheltenham Town
Newport County 1-3 Portsmouth
Northampton 1-2 Chesterfield
Southend United 2-2 AFC Wimbledon
Torquay United 0-0 Oxford United
Wycombe 1-1 Plymouth Argyle
York City 2-2 Burton Albion

[orion523]

That's one hell of a start, keep it up!
I'd love to see Pompey back in the big time, once again taking on hated rivals Southampton.

[pfeifere1]

First Round
27. August 2013
Swindon Town vs. Portsmouth
County Ground

Swindon Town 0-1 Portsmouth

8' David Connolly (Ricky Holmes) - POR



David Connolly of Portsmouth didn't let a little rain slow his game down as his early goal was enough to see Pompey through to the next round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. It took just 7 minutes before Ricky Holmes was able to pick the pocket of an unsuspecting defender and lay a ball across the box for a teammate. Connolly would smash home the one-timed shot to the keeper's near post. For the next 83 minutes, Portsmouth took considerable steps back towards their own goal, allowing more time and space for Swindon Town to operate. "Swindon Town is a talented squad, but we knew we had to be smart and not stretch ourselves. Once we scored that goal I knew all we needed to do were sit back and keep the game in front of us" stated Richie Barker, who's Portsmouth squad have seemingly turned around their luck so far this season. In Round 2 Portsmouth will host Oldham Athletic, winners in penalties over Newport County at home.

Up Next: League Match vs. Morecambe (0-1-3 1 pt, 24th)


27.8.2013

Accrington 1-1 York City (3-4 pens)
Bristol Rovers 2-0 Burton Albion
Bury 2-1 Notts County
Coventry City 2-1 Bradford City
Fleetwood Town 0-2 AFC Wimbledon
Northampton 2-2 Wolverhampton (3-4 pens)
Oldham Athletic 1-1 Newport County (5-4 pens)
Plymouth Argyle 3-0 Mansfield Town
Preston 1-0 Port Vale
Rochdale 1-2 Peterborough
Rotherham United 3-1 Carlisle United
Sheffield United 3-0 Crewe Alexandra
Shrewsbury 2-1 Exeter City
Southend United 3-0 Dagenham
Swindon Town 0-1 Portsmouth
Walsall 2-1 MK Dons

[pfeifere1]

31. August 2013
Portsmouth vs. Morecambe
Fratton Park

Portsmouth 2-0 Morecambe

19' Therry Racon (Andy Barcham) - POR
53' Sonny Bradley - POR



A game of firsts sees Portsmouth easily lay claim to three points at home to last place Morecombe with a 2-0 victory. Once again Pompey started their scoring early in the first half as Andy Barcham whipped a ball into the box in the 19th minute for Therry Racon to slam home via a sublime dipping volley. The goal of the year candidate was then doubled upon as Portsmouth grabbed a corner kick early in the second half. Here, in the 53rd minute Racon saw the ball bounce back outside the box for a half-volley attempt that was blocked by a defender. The ball took a fortunate bounce in the path of CB Sonny Bradley who made no mistake of his opportunity to score. Bradley side-footed home the bouncing ball to all but ensure the three points for Pompey. Grabbing his league leading 4th shutout was Trevor Carson who's day was, once again, relatively quiet.

Up Next: Capital One Cup Round 2 @ Sheffield United (3-2-0 11 pts, 1st in Sky Bet League 1)



31.8.2013

AFC Wimbledon 0-0 Bristol Rovers
Burton Albion 1-2 Northampton
Bury 0-0 Hartlepool
Cheltenham Town 3-1 Accrington
Chesterfield 3-0 Wycombe
Dagenham 1-2 Exeter City
Mansfield Town 1-1 Torquay United
Oxford United 2-1 Newport County
Plymouth Argyle 4-1 Fleetwood Town
Portsmouth 2-0 Morecambe
Rochdale 1-0 Southend United
S****horpe United 0-1 York City

[pfeifere1]

Round 2
4. September 2013
Sheffield United v. Portsmouth
Bramall Lane

Sheffield United 0-0 Portsmouth
**Sheffield United win 6-5 in penalties**



The hero of the day was easily George Long, the goalkeeper for Sheffield United. His 9 saves during the 120 minutes of action to go along with his 2 penalty saves were enough to push his Sheffield United through past Portsmouth, a team who had yet to taste defeat under new manager Richie Barker. "You'd love to keep advancing in the League Cup, but we just weren't able to find the back of the net today" claimed Barker. "Hats off to their keeper. He stood on his head for them tonight. I wish him and his team the best as they progress in the cup" continued Barker. The finishing wasn't there tonight, but the chances were aplenty. This was one of the more exciting nil-nil encounters you'll ever see with a post hit by Portsmouth in the 17th minute, a breakaway save by Long, and it all culminated in a thrilling 7 round penalty shootout. Unfortunately for Pompey, their Capital One Cup run ends here in Round 2.

Up Next: League Match @ Oxford United (1-2-2 5 pts, 16th)


3.9.2013

Barnsley 4-0 Burton Albion
Bolton 1-0 Morecambe
Brighton 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Burnley 2-0 Carlisle United
Cardiff City 2-1 Doncaster
Hull City 0-1 Derby County
Middlesbrough 1-2 Millwall
Newcastle United 1-0 Aston Villa
Peterborough 2-0 Mansfield Town
Port Vale 2-2 Gillingham (4-3 pens)
Preston 2-2 Norwich City (3-4 pens)
Reading 2-2 Everton (4-5 pens)
Rochdale 1-1 Stoke City (5-4 pens)
Rotherham United 2-0 Oxford United
S****horpe United 1-0 Southampton
Tottenham 3-0 Plymouth Argyle
Stevenage 2-3 Manchester United
Sunderland 4-1 Huddersfield
Swansea City 5-0 Bristol Rovers
Wigan Athletic 5-0 Bury
York City 0-3 Blackburn Rovers

4.9.2013

Birmingham City 1-0 Leyton Orient
MK Dons 1-2 Charlton Athletic
Sheffield United 0-0 Portsmouth (6-5 pens)

[pfeifere1]

14. September 2013
Oxford United vs. Portsmouth
The Kassam Stadium

Oxford United 1-2 Portsmouth

19' David Connolly (Ricky Holmes) - WYC
22' Simon Ferry - WYC
45' Dave Kitson (Scott Davies) - OXF



Two early strikes were enough for Pompey this afternoon as they hung on for a 2-1 away win against Oxford United. David Connolly started the scoring with a perfectly placed one-time finish off a feed from Ricky Holmes in the 19th minute. Just three minutes later, Shaun Cooper's shot was parried by the Oxford keeper, only to be sublimely volleyed home by Simon Ferry. Cooper found himself in the attack often this afternoon with Richie Barker imploring his outside backs to play more like wing backs. This proved too much at times for Oxford to even get out of their own half. Oxford would eventually pull one back just before the halftime whistle with a brilliant lobbed pass by Scott Davies to Dave Kitson, who wouldn't waste the best chance of the half by disposing of it into the back of the net, cutting the score to 2-1. With possession slowly turning in favor of Portsmouth as the second half went on, it was evident Pompey would not surrender the three points they were en route to gathering. It is early on and Portsmouth are looking good. Can they keep up their winning ways?

Up Next: League Match vs. Accrington (2-1-3 7pts, 15th)


14.9.2013

Accrington 2-2 Morecambe
Bristol Rovers 1-0 Rochdale
Exeter City 0-1 Cheltenham Town
Fleetwood Town 0-0 Chesterfield
Hartlepool 1-1 AFC Wimbledon
Newport County 1-0 Mansfield Town
Northampton 1-0 S****horpe United
Oxford United 1-2 Portsmouth
Southend United 2-1 Plymouth Argyle
Torquay United 2-2 Bury
Wycombe 2-3 Burton Albion
York City 3-0 Dagenham

[bhurst99]

The league cup loss sounds like a thriller.

[pfeifere1]

17. September 2013
Portsmouth vs. Accrington
Fratton Park

Portsmouth 3-1 Accrington

7' Jed Wallace - WYC
11' Danny Webber (Kayode Odejayi) - ACC
45+1' Andy Barcham - WYC
58' Shaun Cooper (Romain Padovani) - WYC



Quick starts have been a major reason for Portsmouth's tremendous start to the season, and today would showcase yet another early goal by Pompey. This edition of early strikes was an instant goal of the year nominee. In the 7th minute, Portsmouth sent in a corner that seemed to be cleared by Accrington. Fortunately, for Pompey, Jed Wallace manned the top of the box and took the clearance off his chest and sent a side-volley smashing into the net with the slightest of deflections. The lead didn't last long, however, with Danny Webber side-footing a shot into the Pompey net thanks to a beautiful give and go with Kayode Odejayi in the 11th minute. Then, just as everything seemed set for a level score at the half, Ian Dunbavin succumbed to the soggy conditions and slipped in an attempt to clear a back pass. With the keeper on the ground, Andy Barcham raced in, collected the ball, and scored the easiest goal of his professional career to give Portsmouth the 2-1 advantage going into the half. On the other side of halftime, Shaun Cooper was fed the perfect pass to space by Romain Padovani. This chance in the 58th minute would not be missed as Cooper crushed the ball passed Dunbavin's near post side and in for the insurance goal the home fans were looking for.

Next Up: League Match @ Mansfield (2-2-3 8pts, 12th)


17.9.2013

AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Torquay United
Burton Albion 2-1 Fleetwood Town
Bury 2-1 Newport County
Cheltenham Town 2-1 York City
Chesterfield 2-1 Southend United
Dagenham 1-1 Northampton
Mansfield Town 1-1 Oxford United
Morecambe 1-1 Exeter City
Plymouth Argyle 1-0 Bristol Rovers
Portsmouth 3-1 Accrington
Rochdale 1-2 Hartlepool
S****horpe United 3-1 Wycombe