Pompey Play-Off Dates Confirmed

Last updated : 03 May 2016 By Jim Bonner

Pompey's first leg of their play-off semi-final with Plymouth Argyle will take place on Thursday, May 12th (7:45 kick-off) with the return leg being played on Sunday, May 15th (6pm kick-off) for a place at Wembley on May 30th.

The 6pm kick-off on a Sunday is bizarre but hey, we can't have little old League Two games interfering with the almighty Premier League final day fixtures now, can we?

Of course, the order in which these fixtures are played is yet to be decided with one more league game to play. Pompey simply have to equal Plymouth's result against Hartlepool on Saturday (unless there is an eleven goal swing in Argyle's favour) to finish fifth and secure the second leg at Fratton Park.

Would that be such an advantage, though? Paul Cook's men will actually finish this season with a better away record than at home (41 on the road as opposed to a maximum of 40 at Fratton Park) and, in theory, may prefer to play the high-pressure second leg at Home Park.

After all, if Plymouth take a lead from a home first leg to Portsmouth, they could sit back and play their natural counter-attacking game knowing a draw would take them through.

It's all just speculation, though. The only certainty is that come the morning of Pompey's eighth anniversary of their FA Cup triumph, their fans will either be elated or extremely dejected.