Dons Defeat The End For Awford?

Last updated : 26 December 2014 By Jim Bonner

Andy Awford's tenure as Portsmouth manager may be coming to an end after one of the worst performances from a Pompey side at Fratton Park in recent years.

Much like the last home match, the opposition done the damage in the first quarter of the match having been gifted two goals due to extremely sloppy defending.

The first came after just nine minutes as a quick free kick caught the Pompey defence napping and allowed the ball to be passed to ex-Pompey loanee Frankie Sutherland who produced a wonderful curling effort past Paul Jones who might have have done better with it on first viewing.

Whilst the first goal was a good one, the second one was a result of laziness and disorganisation as Pompey were caught out by another quick free kick which allowed Matt Tubbs to run through on goal and fire the ball into the far corner.

Ryan Taylor had hit the post in between those two goals but it took 35 minutes to register a shot on target with Lee Holmes' shot easily saved by James Shea.

The Dons stopper had to make a better save at the end of the half to deny Taylor from close range with the resulting corner being eventually hacked clear. However, most of the half saw the ball being given away and some desperate defending kept the deficit at two.

Nigel Atangana was brought on at half-time to add some energy to the lacklustre midfield and for a brief time Pompey looked a threat with a spell of pressure culminating with a Jed Wallace volley which sailed wide.

The game was effectively over as a contest on 69 minutes when Dan Butler, booked for giving away the free kick which led to the second goal, received a second yellow card for a silly late lunge on George Francomb.

Wimbledon had other chances to finish Pompey off and would have had more had it not been for Jones making a couple of good saves but the telling signs were there as the crowd sang "We're fucking awful, we wanna go home!" as well as ironically cheering pitiful attempts at goal and completed forward passes.

Those "cheers" were followed by a rendition of "you're not fit to wear the shirt" and how little resistance there was to the more vocal fans in the ground voicing their opinion proved just how bad the performance was with the players roundly booed off by those who hadn't left before the final whistle.

This result may well spell the beginning of the end of Andy Awford's time as Pompey manager. Fans will be questioning why he dropped Atangana after he scored at Cheltenham last Saturday whilst his decision to bring Adam Webster back into the fold backfired as he was dreadful. You have to wonder what he sees in Andy Barcham to bring him on ahead of Miles Storey, too.

Not only was his team selection and tactics poor but it seems obvious that he has lost the players given how they are not performing for him like they did when he first took over. Jones aside, none of the starting eleven could walk away from Fratton Park today believing that they had earned their money.

The Luton match on Sunday is likely to be Awford's last if it ends in defeat. There is a long period without a match after that and the board would surely see that as an ideal time to sack him with time to get a new man in (or promote Gary Waddock) and then talk about transfer targets in the upcoming window.

It would be a sad end for another man regarded as Pompey "through and through"  but today proved that he has lost the majority of the fans' support and they want something to change.

Pompey Player Ratings

Paul Jones: 6 - Kept the score respectable with a few good saves.

Adam Webster: 3 - Looked completely out of his depth.

Paul Robinson: 5 - Not as solid as usual.

Jack Whatmough: 4 - His worst Pompey performance yet.

Dan Butler: 2 - Woeful performance capped with two silly bookings.

Jed Wallace: 4 - Not in the game.

Danny Hollands: 4 - Shoulders most of the blame for the second goal and off the pace in general.

Marcus Bean: 5 - Tried to get stuck in but outbattled for most of the match.

Lee Holmes: 4 - Says it all when I asked a fellow fan "when did Holmes come on?" durng the first half and the reply I got was "he has been on since the start!" Anonymous.

Craig Westcarr: 4 - Barely touched the ball but had no service.

Ryan Taylor: 4 - Simply not good enough.

Substitutes

Michael Poke

Joe Devera

Ben Chorley

Nicky Shorey

Nigel Atangana (L. Holmes 46): 6 - Added something to the midfield early on but soon faded.

Andy Barcham (Hollands 75): N/A - No impact.

Miles Storey