Portsmouth 4-1 Crewe Alexandra
Portsmouth’s clinical finishing is what separated the two sides in this match as they ran away 4-1 winners at Fratton Park, getting them back to wining ways at home. Crewe controlled most of the possession but couldn’t cause enough threat with it, allowing Pompey to utilise their attacking quality on the counter attack and secure a comfortable victory.
Portsmouth Ratings
Craig MacGillivray– 8
The Pompey shot stopper made a crucial save from Kirk at 0-0 and made a few more quality saves throughout the game to keep his clean sheet but was unlucky to lose it in stoppage time after a controversial penalty was given to Crewe allowing them to score a consolation goal.
Haji Mnoga- 5
The 18 year old struggled defensively on his full league debut but did offer some threat going forward for the blues in the first half, however his day was cut short at half time after he was replaced by Johnson.
Jack Whatmough- 6
A solid return after a couple of weeks out due to injury for the centre half, he commanded the back four well and was an aerial threat at the back throughout, working well with his partner Raggett.
Sean Raggett- 7
Done himself justice after scoring an own goal last time out at Plymouth but had his more familiar partner alongside him today in Jack Whatmough, winning everything he needed to in the air whilst making some crucial blocks and clearances in the mean time.
Cameron Pring- 5
Probably Pompey’s worst player on the day, struggling defensively against Powell and Ng, also providing poor deliveries from set pieces and crosses for his teammates, was replaced at half time by Lee Brown.
Marcus Harness- 6
He was a constant threat for Pompey on the counter attack and linked up with the forwards well, but he struggled with end product and didn’t have as much freedom as usual due to him being out on the right, solid performance nonetheless.
Tom Naylor- 8
A fantastic captains display from Naylor as he broke the play up excellently and led by example in the middle of the park, he got a deserved goal after a great strike from the edge of the box to make it 3-0. Top performance from the skipper.
Andy Cannon- 7
A gritty performance from the midfielder as he provided the engine in the Pompey midfield, his work rate kept the game ticking and he linked the play up from defence to attack brilliantly.
Ronan Curtis- 9 MOTM
Ronan Curtis really got the team going as he scored the first goal whilst Pompey were under pressure, steering the ball low into the corner after a nice pass from Marquis and showed some excellent footwork to capitalise on a defensive error to make it 2-0, instantly relieving the pressure on his team, his quality alone took the wind out of Crewe and won the game for Pompey.
Ellis Harrison- 7
His work rate up top countered Crewe’s style of play as he closed down every pass they played around the back, this came up trumps for him as he won the ball off Beckles in the build up to the first goal and he did brilliantly to win a throw in and to anticipate the run from Curtis in the build up to the fourth. Really showing his importance to the team.
John Marquis- 7
A strong performance from Pompey’s main man. Marquis linked up well with some nice pieces of play, especially a perfectly timed back heel to set up a counter attack in the first half. He topped his performance off with a goal to make it 4-0 and to capture his 9th league goal of the season extending his lead at the top of the league one goal scoring charts.
Substitutes
Lee Brown ’46- 6
Improved the defence massively after replacing Pring at left back, solid performance on his return from injury.
Callum Johnson ’46- 6
Like Brown, he improved the defence after coming on and linked up well with Harness down the right, showed his experience after replacing Mnoga.
Bryn Morris ’82- N/A
Jordy Hiwula ’86– N/A
Crewe Ratings
William Jaaskelainen- 5
Conceding four goals never looks good but to be fair to the Crewe keeper there wasn’t much he could do about any of them, made one or two stops but a day he will want to forget.
Perry Ng- 6
Was a good threat going forward in the first half and linked up well with Powell, struggled defensively though and was part of the back four that conceded 4.
Omar Beckles- 3
Poor defensively and in possession as he was at fault for both goals in the first half after losing the ball deep in his own half, was consequently subbed at half time. A game to forget for Beckles.
Luke Offord- 5
Struggled at centre half and was torn apart on the counter by the Pompey forwards, didn’t have a lot of support from his partner at the back.
Harry Pickering- 6
Very dangerous going forward and solid down the left hand side in the first half especially, linking up brilliantly with Kirk and caused Mnoga big problems. Was their main outlet in the first half but did fade out the game in the second, so a 6 is a fair rating.
Tom Lowery- 5
Had a decent game on the right hand side of the midfield 3 but couldn’t create much and struggled to add any flair to the game, nothing special and was replaced by Murphy in the 59th minute.
Ryan Wintle- 5
Not a great game in the middle of the park for Wintle, struggled defensively and didn’t offer anything in the final third, coming off Ainley in the 66th minute.
Oliver Finney- 6
Solid performance in the midfield and offered a threat going forward, having a great effort saved at 0-0, carried on offering that threat throughout, scoring a consolation penalty in stoppage time.
Daniel Powell- 5
Struggled with end product but kept going and kept trying to break down the Pompey defence until he was replaced on the 59th minute by Owen Dale.
Offrande Zanzala- 4
Poor showing from the striker as he seemed off the pace from the first whistle, poor first touch and struggled with his link up play, was the weak link in the threatening attack in the first half.
Charlie Kirk- 6
Strong performance going forward in the first half and was an effective outlet for Crewe, creating chances for his teammates and caused Mnoga all sorts of problems with is link up with Pickering, however like the rest of the team, he struggled in the second half.
Substitutes
Oliver Lancashire ’46- 5
An improvement on Beckles but still struggled against the Pompey counter attack and was opened up multiple times by the attack, did have a good header well saved though.
Luke Murphy ’59- 5
Replaced Lowery but didn’t have much of an impact on the game and struggled to create anything in attack.
Owen Dale 59- 5
Offered some fresh legs off the bench but couldn’t really impact Crewe’s attack and struggled to utilise his ability.
Callum Ainley ’66- 6
Replaced Wintle on the 66th minute and had small impact on the game, with a shot crashing off the post and coming back out his biggest moment of the game.
Regan Griffiths ’90- N/A
