Lowe & Co can take Pompey to heights
IWATCHED Portsmouth cement their place at the summit of League One last weekend with another impressive away performance – and they look as though they will take some stopping this season.
The south coast side came flying out the traps against a Wimbledon team who looked shellshocked walking off the pitch at half-time.
Two-nil was a deserved lead at the interval for Kenny Jackett’s men, who could have had four or five but for some brilliant saves from the Dons goalkeeper Joe McDonnell.
Neal Ardley’s team responded fantastically in the second half and cut the deficit to 2-1, but just fell short at the end.
For Portsmouth, the chimes were in full voice from the magnificent away support and, despite the Dons’ second half showing, the result never looked in doubt.
It’s another sign that Portsmouth are on the right road. Pompey were taken over by The Tornante Company a year ago and have not looked back since.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner headed a group that could see the untapped potential on the south coast and I see no reason why Portsmouth, in time, cannot join their south coast neighbours Bournemouth and Southampton at the highest level.
The Pompey side contains plenty of promise and the club have been shrewd in the transfer market, as Eisner said they would be upon completion of his takeover.
The club have steadily increased the quality of their squad over the last few seasons and, to be fair, it was a club on the rise even before Tornante took over.
Matt Clarke, signed from Ipswich in a move that saw Adam Webster go the other way, is brilliant at the back, whilst home-grown defender Jack Whatmough is back to his best following horrendous injuries.
They have been key in a side that has only shipped five goals away from home.
Striker Ollie Hawkins, 26, who has made 50 appearances since joining from Dagenham & Redbridge in August 2017, has been an excellent addition and was superb in the air.
He hasn’t got the goals he would like to, with just one in 14 games, albeit against previous table-toppers Peterborough. However, he leads the line really well.
Success
Ronan Curtis has had a much bigger impact with six goals and five assists this season and the former Derry City man will hope to pick up where he left off before joining up with the Republic of Ireland in the international break. Portsmouth’s away form is incredible with six wins from seven. However, their home form is disappointing in comparison. Pre-weekend, they’d won three, drawn two and lost one. At Wimbledon, Portsmouth were fantastic in the first half – they looked like a side brimming with confidence, buoyed by their amazing away record. Dion Donohue has wonderful dead-ball delivery and every corner looked like leading to a goal. Before Tom Naylor headed home the opener, he had another effort brilliantly kept out by Dons stopper McDonnell, before McDonnell brilliantly used his feet again to prevent Pompey opening the scoring through marauding full-back Nathan Thompson.
Millwall loanee Ben Thompson was outstanding in midfield and his Lions manager Neil Harris would have been really pleased he made the trip to Kingsmeadow to see how he is progressing.
As well as his usual bite, he has real quality on the ball and I am sure he will return to the Lions and cement a place in central midfield, especially now George Saville has joined Middlesbrough.
The real star of the show, however, was Jamal Lowe.
The 24-year-old partnered Hawkins up front in a traditional 4-4-2 and was an ideal foil for the big number nine. Blessed with searing pace, Lowe was a constant threat in behind and was such a willing runner.
He was also tasked with blocking off McDonnell at corners and did it well for the opener, whilst he had a hand in the second, showing lovely link up play to release left-back Lee Brown, who teed up Gareth Evans.
Pre-weekend, Portsmouth were averaging 2.30 points per game. That puts them ahead of Wigan (2.13) and Blackburn (2.08), who achieved promotion automatically last season. Pompey’s challenge will be to sustain their away form and then increase their home points return.
Jackett knows the expectation that comes from leading sides with fanatical home support, as he led Wolves to the League One title with a record points total of 103 in 2014.
It was no surprise that Portsmouth moved to make him their new manager and you can see why if you look at his record. Jackett showed how to awaken a sleeping giant in the Midlands. He was able to harness the energy of the incredible support.
As someone who has played for both teams, I can say that the weight of expectation that comes with playing for such clubs is huge, irrespective of division, and Jackett has shown he is able to turn around the fortunes of fallen giants. His appointment was a very shrewd one.