Pompey Harness the power to win
MARCUS CLINCHES IT AS COWLEY BOSSES BOOKED
MARCUS HARNESS settled a riotous clash that Portsmouth’s management duo of Danny and Nicky Cowley will not forget in a hurry.
The brothers were both booked after heated touchline protests in the first half as Pompey were denied a penalty, immediately gave one away and saw it saved by keeper Alex Bass after a poor effort by Wycombe skipper Joe Jacobson.
It meant a goalless first half, but Harness strapped himself in for the winner in the 73rd minute as Pompey won away for the first time since the opening day of the season.
It was a deserved victory as they gritted their teeth after a shaky start to make it six games unbeaten in all competitions.
For the Chairboys, back-to-back League One defeats means they are falling off the pace set by Plymouth and Wigan at the top, but there were enough spurned opportunities and graft to leave boss Gareth Ainsworth far from downhearted.
Danny Cowley said: “You have to come here and front up and compete and we definitely did that.
“I am really proud of the boys considering we had about eight players unavailable for the game.”
Of the penalty that was not given, Cowley claimed: “This was my 728th game as manager and that would be in my top five of bad decisions.
“I have got no argument with their penalty. But ours was absolutely stonewall.
“But we dug in and we are now six unbeaten. We have gone through difficult times off the pitch, but we fought for one another. We had spirit and togetherness.”
Harness had looked the most dangerous player on the field and scored his sixth in 10 games when he latched onto George Hirst’s cross after a superb counter-attack.
He needed two bites at the cherry to force the ball over and was then grateful to his goalkeeper Bass.
The Pompey keeper garnished his penalty save with a brilliant stop to deny Sam Vokes and got lucky when Jason Mccarthy cut inside to smack a shot against the post.
Ainsworth said: “We had 21 shots at their goal and it shows how far we have come.
“We had the better chances, but just didn’t take them. It’s tough, but I look at the bigger picture and to do that against a good Portsmouth side shows how far we’ve come.”
Wycombe had Portsmouth on the ropes early on, but never seemed able to land a serious blow.
The fluffed chances made the drama of Jacobson’s missed penalty appear routine as he clipped his shot into the midriff of Bass.
Neither manager doubted the merit of that decision on the half hour, awarded when Sean Raggett clattered into Anis Mehmeti.
The miss lifted Pompey for the second half and this victory edged them into the top half of the table.
WYCOMBE WANDERERS: Stockdale 7, Stewart 6, Tafazolli 6, Jacobson 5 (Wheeler 77), Mccarthy 6, Thompson 6, Scowen 6, Obita 7, Mehmeti 6 (Akinfenwa 77), Hanlan 6, Vokes 6.
Unused Subs: Przybek, Grimmer, Pendlebury, Forino, Parsons.
PORTSMOUTH: Bass 8, Romeo 6, Raggett 7, Ogilvie 8, Brown 6, Thompson 6, Williams 6, Harness 8 (Downing 89), Azeez 6 (Jacobs 68), Curtis 7, Hirst 7 (Ahadme 86).
Unused Subs: Steward, Freeman, Kaba, Hughes.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Marcus Harness. Darting, creative influence with the energy to force home a deserved winner.
REFEREE: Neil Hair 7.