Jackett: Brett was only man for our spot jobu
BRETT PITMAN picked a good time to open his League One account for the season as he rescued a point to maintain Portsmouth’s unbeaten start.
Striker Pitman came off the bench to save Pompey from defeat against bogey side Shrewsbury with an 87th-minute penalty.
Pitman has started all but one league game as a sub this season, despite being Portsmouth’s 24-goal top scorer last term, with boss Kenny Jackett preferring younger striker Oli Hawkins.
But the 30-year-old proved to be Portsmouth’s saviour against Shrewsbury – much to Jackett’s relief.
He said: “You would not want anyone else in the club in that situation to take that penalty.
“He can make the difference for us over the course of the season and maybe turn defeats into draws and draws into wins.
“He had a really good season last year, is frustrated and would want to be in the team but Brett is a very good pro.”
Seeing his side pay the penalty again was especially disappointing for Shrewsbury boss John Askey after his team had two decent appeals of their own waved away and put in a performance that should have ended in a coupon-busting away win.
Pitman’s penalty was the fifth spot-kick Shrewsbury have conceded in just nine games this season and Askey said: “I don’t think theirs was a penalty and we had two close calls.
“Referees are deciding outcomes of games and it is not right.”
On paper this was League One’s mismatch of the day – unbeaten, free-scoring, second-from-top Portsmouth against winless, second-bottom, goal-shy Shrews.
But the visitors ended up minutes from a sixth successive win against their south coast hosts.
Portsmouth missed goalscoring talisman Ronan Curtis, on international duty with Republic of Ireland Under21s, especially as his replacement, Aston Villa loanee Andre Green struggled and was subbed at the break.
They started brightly, but Shrewsbury soon settled and produced a response that left the natives restless and the visitors looking like the top-ofthe-table outfit.
They began knocking the ball around nicely, were first to every ball and created so many chances it was a mystery how they weren’t ahead at half-time. Lenell John-Lewis was inches away from turning in Shaun Whalley’s cross and later headed one chance off target and fired another over the bar.
Omar Beckles, Whalley and then Anthony Grant all had former Shrews keeper Craig MacGillivray scrambling with long-range efforts and Matt Clarke was fortunate not to give away a penalty after bundling Whalley over in the box. Jackett’s response was to hook Green and Ben Thompson and bring on David Wheeler and Ben Close. And a half-time rollicking no doubt accompanied the changes, judging by Portsmouth’s greater intensity in the second half. They had another penalty escape on the hour, though, when Alex Gilliead looked to have been tripped by Lee Brown before Gareth Evans saw his header batted away by Joel Coleman. But seconds after Portsmouth fans mocked Shrews’ Greg Docherty with a chorus of “who” when he came on in the 74th minute, he answered the question with his first touch. Christian Burgess could only head Whalley’s cross on to Docherty, with the on-loan Glasgow Rangers midfielder side-footing a volley first time into the bottom corner. Pitman rescued Portsmouth with three minutes remaining, converting from the spot after Jamal Lowe was needlessly tripped by Beckles.