Former Pompey Boys Thwart Blues

Last updated : 08 August 2017 By Jim Bonner

Pompey have been knocked out of the League Cup at the first hurdle after being beaten 2-1 at Cardiff after extra time.

The visitors took the lead courtesy of a Sean Morrison own goal as he turned Kal Naismith's cross into his own net with Pompey players lurking at the far post for a tap in.

Neil Warnock obviously threw a tantrum at half-time as the Bluebirds came out of the traps in thesecond half and found an equaliser from ex-Pompey loan winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and from then on, the pressure was on Kenny Jackett's men with Luke McGee ensuring the match would go to extra time.

Cardiff's superior fitness and quality meant that they took control of the extra time period but just as it seemed that Pompey might earn a penalty shootout, Greg Halford scored in the 113th minute but refused to celebrate the goal that ultimately knocked his old club out of the competition, although ex-Portsmouth keeper Brian Murphy also made a few smart stops to keep the Welsh side in it.

Nobody's going to be too disappointed with this result and as long as Pompey are in the bottom two divisions, they are always going to find it difficult to advance in this competition due to the seeding system of the first two rounds of the draw.

Therefore this is an easy defeat to shrug off with the more important match being played at Oxford on Saturday. On the plus side, being knocked out deprives Southampton of an opportunity of playing their arch rivals whilst they continue to chung along in the Premier League, failing to win any trophies in the process.