A timely reminder of why paper-thin Blues squad needs essential surgery
Fratton wake-up call as Pompey are dumped out of FA Cup by League Two side Harrogate after conceding dramatic winner in fifth minute of added time. NEIL ALLEN reports...
WITH the growing influx of houses drowning in festive lights and cleaving of Christmas trees, reminders of what lies ahead are unmistakable.
Similarly, on Saturday, the football pitch demonstrated a timely nudge, albeit in terms of the forthcoming January transfer window rather than Christmas Day.
Pompey strode into their FA Cup second-round weekend boasting a nine-match unbeaten run and toasting the finest league form of any team in the top five divisions.
It’s a remarkable transformation which will likely earn Danny Cowley November’s League One manager of the month as richlydeserved recognition. To think there was once an online poll questioning whether he should be removed as boss.
Then it arrived, that cold reality check to ground soaring expectations threatening to influence some to scale heights of delusion – Harrogate Town.
In truth, the Blues’ deficiencies have remained glaring, irrespective of the eye-catching run since the Ipswich debacle in October. Hardly papering over the cracks, yet vulnerabilities have failed to helpfully fade from existence.
Certainly Cowley has refused to be distracted by short-term thrills, even if George Hirst’s shock emergence subsequently prompted a little reappraisal.
He has long craved centreforward and central-defensive additions in January – and it’s a transfer wishlist unaffected by the recent upturn in results.
Overall, Pompey struggle for squad depth, particularly when impacted by long-term injuries such as Clark Robertson, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Paul Downing and Jayden Reid.
Against Harrogate, numbers were further reduced through the absence of Joe Morrell and Hirst, both laid low by a sickness bug which has swept through the Blues’ camp in the last fortnight.
Coupled with a fresh injury to Louis Thompson and squad weaknesses were exposed alarmingly, with the outcome of FA Cup elimination to a League Two side.
Not wishing to do Harrogate an injustice, they fully warranted their win, especially for a secondhalf display in which they looked considerably more capable than the hosts of snatching it late on. Nonetheless, Cowley was unable to freshen or rotate his starting XI, while his bench contained five teenagers, among them Gassan Ahadme, whose involvement continues to decline. In the instance of Adam Payce, hours earlier he left an academy match against Exeter at half-time to answer the first-team SOS, thereby swelling substitute numbers to the permitted nine.
While unquestionably a strong side lined up against Harrogate, it was the absence of realistic options, particularly from the bench, which restricted the Blues.
The midfield pairing in particular – Miguel Azeez and Shaun Williams – struggled to impose themselves and remained in place for the full 90 minutes.
Azeez’s fleeting outings have been well documented, with
Cowley himself acknowledging that Arsenal may well request the 19-year-old’s return in January following just seven appearances.
He did little to enhance his firstteam calls on Saturday, slipping into anonymity as the match progressed, worryingly so too.
Alongside him, Williams’ mistake led to the visitors’ opener, so wonderfully finished by Luke Armstrong in the 44th minute.
More of a concern, however, is the 35-year-old being asked to turn out in a match Cowley wanted him rested for, an act which generated a 19th start of the campaign for the ex-Millwall man.
It was telling, with Williams, who had been restored to midfield from operating at centre-back at Gillingham the previous weekend, too often caught in possession and not distributing swiftly enough.
Alas, he deserves mitigation, embroiled in an unrelenting fixture list with the head coach unable to rest him due to injury, illness and suspension unavailability among others.
Meanwhile, up front, Ellis Harrison was named in place of the ill Hirst, while John Marquis was hurried onto the bench following a five-game injury absence and just one training session under his belt.
It was Harrison who netted the leveller during first-half injury time with a well-taken finish to take him to four goals for the campaign.
Despite none arriving in League One, he is now the Blues’ jointsecond highest scorer, along with Marquis and Reeco Hackett. A damning statistic.
It represented Harrison’s first start since mid-September as he battles to convince Cowley he is worthy of a new deal beyond this season, and, understandably, was a little rusty during proceedings.
Relying on him and a similarly undercooked striker in late substitute Marquis was hardly an ideal scenario, yet it was needs must for the Blues.
Merely another example of Cowley’s shallow squad at present, albeit with the January transfer window tantalisingly approaching and potentially offering a little assistance.
That is, of course, providing he can offload some of the unwanted members of Pompey’s dressing room to create space for fresh additions to bolster playing resources.
In the meantime, Harrogate’s bench contained just four substitutes, which perhaps renders complaining about Pompey’s squad size a little fraudulent. It hardly did the visitors any harm.
Yet this is Pompey. Financial resources and supporter expectations are incomparable, and, in a competition such as the FA Cup, the options for such a club were paper thin.
The Blues scraped into the second round with a wholly unimpressive 1-0 victory over non-league Harrow Borough – and on Saturday didn’t deserve to progress any further.
The moment which sealed their fate arrived in the fifth minute of time added on, when most were braced for the prospect of an unwelcome trip to North Yorkshire on a cold December midweek evening for the replay.
Harrogate’s counter-attacks as the second half wore on were becoming more problematic.
Then Mahlon Romeo carelessly gave the ball away in the centre of the pitch to spark another Harrogate surge forward. It resulted in Lewis Page crossing from the left and there was Jack Diamond, on loan from Sunderland, to produce the decisive finish.
Few present could possibly begrudge Harrogate their moment. This was no smash and grab, they had performed positively and demonstrated the willingness to attack throughout.
They also highlighted the essential transfer window work required on this Pompey squad – not that Cowley needed reminding.