Local boy Ings strikes twice to settle
When Southampton last beat Portsmouth at Fratton Park, way back in 1984, the winning goal was scored by a player who grew up between the south coast’s two fiercest football rivals.
Steve Moran himself had always doubted whether a local lad could again decide such a derby, but step forward Danny Ings, who lived between these two proud maritime cities, and effectively won this League Cup tie with two first-half goals.
Ings had dreamed of playing for Southampton as a boy and certainly made the most of his moment, celebrating his second directly in front of the crestfallen Portsmouth fans. It was suggested that an object may have been thrown in his direction and, when he was substituted after 83 minutes having also created Southampton’s third, the word “scummer” was certainly ringing out loudly around Fratton Park.
“All of my friends had been debating whether they were going to come or not because they know how much of a big fixture it is and it can be quite intimidating – but the fans were superb,” said Ings.
Portsmouth began both halves strongly but, with their team currently down in 20th in League One, the bottom line of a heaviest-ever home defeat against Southampton will also place manager Kenny Jackett under further scrutiny. Jackett, with some justification, stressed that he had wanted his team “to have a go, ruffle them and not shut up shop”, and Portsmouth’s extraordinary fans certainly seemed to appreciate the approach.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl later said that he had never experienced an atmosphere like it. “We will not forget this evening,” he said. “That, for me, is English football.”
The logistics of a Tuesday night kick-off meant there was no special “coach bubble” or police escort for the 2,000 Southampton fans who had made the 19-mile journey. It was, said Hampshire Police, the biggest football operation in their history and the ambience under the lights of Fratton Park was even more fevered.
There are now 52 places between Portsmouth and Southampton in the league pyramid, but that was far from evident in the opening 20 minutes. Brett Pitman had a powerful strike turned over by Alex Mccarthy and then must have thought he had headed Portsmouth into the lead before his effort was cleared off the line by Jan Bednarek.
But Portsmouth were then punished on Southampton’s first meaningful attack when Ings cut in from the left and shot beyond Craig Macgillivray. A second was then added just a minute before halftime when Michael Obafemi dissected their defence and Ings deftly lifted his finish above Macgillivray.
Portsmouth still emerged reinvigorated and again began the second half by putting Southampton under considerable pressure, but translating pressure into chances remained problematic while Southampton were still more clinical.
Ings crossed for Cedric Soares to further extend the lead before substitute Nathan Redmond produced the most spectacular finish of the night to seal an emphatic win. Portsmouth Booked Southampton
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