‘Victory at Peterborough without question the season’s pivotal result so far’
What’s left: Wycombe (A), Derby (H), Shrewsbury (H), Bolton (A), Barnsley (H), Wigan (H), Lincoln (A).
How it started: There was a bit of a stir before the campaign started when head coach John Mousinho neglected to mention the word ‘promotion’ among club goals during the traditional Radio Solent fans’ forum. Some took that as proof that the club lacked ambition and the club had to move to clarify. Certainly, Pompey expected a playoff challenge, but stopped short of publicly targeting the automatics. What has subsequently unfolded has far exceeded that.
How it’s going: Pompey have an unfortunate League One habit of imploding at Christmas.
Well, it appeared history was repeating itself after collecting just five points from six matches during the festive period and heading into the New Year. However, since the home loss to Orient on January 13, described by Mousinho as his lowest point of the season, the Blues have bounced back with an unbeaten 12-match run, consisting of nine wins and three draws.
Gut feeling: The recent 1-0 victory at Peterborough is, without question, regarded as the season’s pivotal result so far. It ended six straight wins for the Posh but, more importantly, means Pompey are now nine points clear of third place in the automatic promotion spots, with seven matches remaining.
Star and saviour: Central midfielder Marlon Park is on the verge of a dream season. A former Pompey season-ticket holder who was released at the age of 19, he has returned to skipper the side. Not only that, but he’ll comfortably be in the top two for most fans’ player of the season.
Worry lines: Injuries! By February 2, Pompey had lost six players for the remainder of the season, including three of their best performers - Joe Morrell, Alex Robertson and Regan Poole. When they won at Peterborough, they did so without 14 players through illness and injury. Then Christian Saydee came off with a hamstring problem during the match!