ROBERTS RIDES TO THE RESCUE
PORTSMOUTH manager Paul Cook hailed the display of Gary Roberts after he scored a late equaliser to secure Pompey a point at relegation-threatened Yeovil, despite being reduced to ten men.
Francois Zoko’s sixth goal of the campaign looked to have been enough for the Glovers, but Roberts – who followed Cook to Fratton Park from Chesterfield – claimed a share of the points for the visitors, who were at a numerical disadvantage after Christian Burgess was dismissed.
“Gary Roberts is a fantastic talent and that is why he was brought to this club – because Gary can handle the weight of expectation on him and that’s why he’s the player he is,” said Cook. “From 1-0 down, I thought we looked dead and buried.
“It was a fantastic point, never at any stage in the game were we playing well – the reality is that we never created enough chances.
“I thought Yeovil were excellent on the day, it was a difficult game for us.
“I’ve never questioned the character of our team, we just weren’t at it today and I’m made up with a point.”
Portsmouth started strongly, as Kyle Bennett fired over from the edge of the area in the 29th minute after Yeovil keeper Artur Krysiak punched a corner from Ben Davies into his path.
Everton loanee Liam Walsh looked well-placed to score an opener for Yeovil on 37 minutes, after his closerange effort was only half blocked before it was cleared off the line by Burgess.
On the hour mark, Zoko was denied by the reflexes of Ryan Fulton, after good work from Harry Cornick, as Yeovil kept the pressure on their promotion chasing opponents.
It was Zoko who broke the deadlock for the Glovers on 75 minutes, when he slotted home after the Pompey defence failed to clear their lines following a cross from Ryan Dickson.
With eight minutes to Portsmouth were reduced to ten men when Burgess received his second yellow card for a foul on Dickson.
However, Pompey weren’t quite finished as Roberts equalised with his eighth goal of the campaign in the 85th minute to claim a point for Pompey.
Yeovil manager Darren Way remained upbeat, even though his side remain in the relegation zone.
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“No team anywhere up and down the country is going to win every home match; it’s about how we deal with the adversity and this club has been through a lot of adversity,” said Way.
“The problem is when I took over, we hadn’t won any games and now every game is a ‘must win’, but I know that. But with the team and the togetherness and the environment that we’ve created we have to stay strong and show a real determination and courage.
“They showed all of that out there and that will help keep us up.”