New date needed for county cup tie as Blues face fixtures backlog

Pompey are on the lookout for another new date for their Hampshire Senior Cup tie against AFC Stoneham.

But finding room in their already congested schedule will be tough.

The Blues’ last-gasp win against Exeter in the Papa John’s Trophy has caused the third-round game against the Wessex League Premier title chasers to be rescheduled once again.

Instead of hosting the Wessex League side under the lights at Fratton Park tonight, Danny Cowley will now take his side to

Cambridge United for the second time in 2022 for a hastily-arranged last-16 tie in the Football League competition. Nonew date for the Hampshire Cup tie has been announced by theBluesafter earlier attempts to play the game fell by the wayside.

Pompey still have to find new dates for three outstanding League One fixtures that were called off in recent weeks.

Oxford (home) and Plymouth (away) had to be postponed due to a number of positive COVID cases in the Blues camp. Meanwhile, anewhome for the Fratton Park match against Wigan is needed following the Latics’ ongoing involvement in the FA

Cup.

The postponed trip to AFC Wimbledon has already been pencilled in for next Tuesday, January 18 – the same night the winner of the Pompey v Stoneham game is meant to travel to Farnborough in the quarter-final of the Hampshire Senior Cup.

The Blues’ next week without a midweek fixture scheduled is that beginning Monday, January 24.

Pompey beat Basingstoke back on September 14 to book their place in the next round of the Hampshire Senior Cup. That night Cowley was forced to play some of his senior players because of a lack of youth team players at his disposal.

Stoneham are currently fifth in the Wessex Premier (see table on left hand page) and have only lost twice on their travels in league action this season.

Those losses have come in their last two away games - 4-1 at Moneyfields, less a mile from Fratton Park, in December and last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at fellow title chasers Hamworthy.

Ex-Fareham and US Portsmouth striker Callum Laycock, left, is Stoneham’s joint-top scorer with 14 goals this season.