Pompey Frustrated By Robins

Last updated : 09 March 2014 By Jim Bonner

Portsmouth ended the week in the same way they started it with another goalless draw, only this one wasn't celebrated like the result at Chesterfield on Monday night.

In all fairness to Cheltenham, they came to Fratton Park to attack rather than sit back which made for a better first half than some of the recent matches at Fratton Park, although that isn't saying too much.

Whilst Richie Barker has been praised for tightening the defence in recent weeks the Robins found it far too easy to cut Pompey's backline apart, with Terry Gornell hitting the side netting early on when he was unmarked in the box.

The home fans were thankful for Cheltenham's profligacy as they couldn't hit the target when they shot from distance, though they should have been cheering when Jake Jervis shot wide of the far post having done the hard part of beating two defenders for pace.

Straight after that, the visitors came close after Ashley Vincent hit the post with his drive from outside the box following a poorly cleared corner. Ricky Holmes and Jed Wallace combined well late in the half for the only time in the match to set up Jervis but again, he miscued his shot and the chance was gone.

The second haf was a much scrappier affair than the first with plenty of head tennis and wayward passes. Pompey did most of the pressing with Cheltenham reduced to more long shots that didn't trouble Trevor Carson.

The same could be said for Scott Brown in the other goal, who only had one meaningful shot on target to save and that came when Wes Fogden forced him to make a stop at his near post when the Pompey midfielder had worked his way into the box.

Holmes also came close with an angled shot that was always going wide of the far post, whilst he bent in a late free kick which resulted in a goalmouth scramble which Cheltenham eventually survived with the ball being hacked clear off the line.

But Pompey had to settle for a disappointing, albeit fair draw and most of the optimism gained from Monday night had vanished.

It was interesting listening to the fans moan both outside of Fratton Park and on various internet sites. Perhaps it's just me but I didn't think the performance was that bad.

The official site suggests that there was a lack of energy in the first half but both sides played some good football at times. I'm not suggesting it was tika-taka but it was certainly more entertaining than the dirge we had to suffer against Wimbledon and Accrington.

If anything, the second half was more disappointing as Pompey's lack of quality coupled with Cheltenham's doggedness made for a frustrating 45 minutes and as time ticked on the game looked increasingly like it would finish goalless, even when Ryan Taylor was introduced.

Apart from Pompey gaining an additional point in their battle against the drop (to suggest a late charge for the play-offs was ridiculous) the only thing this result has done is reinforce the view that Barker still can't get the right balance to his side. This is likely to be the case for the rest of the season and it's hardly riveting stuff to watch, which may effect season ticket sales come the summer.

In terms of the relegation battle, results went against Portsmouth yesterday. Accrington beat Chesterfield 3-1 (how bad does that make Monday's result look now?) whilst Wycombe beat Hartlepool and Northampton got an unlikely point at Scunthorpe to keep the gap between us and them at seven points although they still have that game in hand.

Out of the rest of the teams below Pompey, Bury have two games in hand as do Accrington and Northampton. Torquay have also played a game less but are 11 points adrift and surely doomed. Exeter have played as many games as Portsmouth but are only a point behind.

On the other hand, this league is so ridiculously tight that Pompey are only nine points behind Southend in 7th place. Burton are Tuesday's opponents and although they may be 4th, it seems like league position counts for absolutely nothing when it comes to predicting results in League Two.

It should make for an interesting climax to the season, albeit probably a dull one with not too many goals to see from a Pompey fan's perspective due to Barker's "safety first" approach.

Pompey Player Ratings

Trevor Carson: 6 - Made no mistakes.

Joe Devera: 6 - Kept his place as Alfei was injured, but really needs to return to centre back.

Bondz N'Gala: 6 - Did a job.

Ben Chorley: 6 - Kept things relatively organised.

Nicky Shorey: 6 - Defending was good but lacked any threat going forward.

Jed Wallace: 5 - Extremely frustrating in the second half.

Toumani Diagarouga: 7 - Got around the pitch and involved in everything. Hopefully his loan can be extended because he looks the part.

Wes Fogden: 6 - May have played in the centre but still looked better out wide.

Ricky Holmes: 5 - Needs to work on his crossing.

Jake Jervis: 5 - Wasteful.

Michael Drennan: 5 - Not really in the game.

Substitutes

Phil Smith

Sonny Bradley

Marcos Painter

Thery Racon

Romain Padovani

Ryan Taylor (Jervis 68): 6 - Added an assured touch up front.

Patrick Agyemang (Drennan 83): N/A - No late impact.