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To be a Portsmouth fan is hard at the best of times and although this Covid-19 hit season feels different, emotions are still running as high as ever.
The fact you can’t watch them play at Fratton Park, hear ‘Play Up Pompey’ boom when the players come out from the tunnel or even clap them off the pitch come the full-time whistle, has made this season an absolute rollercoaster from the living room.
As for the team, taking to the pitch in an eerily quiet stadium which would usually produce an atmosphere like no other at this level, is something they would have had to come to terms with quickly. However with just six wins from their 16 home league games, it appears performances need to improve on home turf if they are to challenge for a place in the top two.
It really does beg the question as to whether the missing Pompey fans would have played a role in the team’s promotion chances should they have been in the stadium throughout this term. In the two campaigns previous to this one, the Blues lost just four league games out of 41 on home soil – winning 24 with the Blue Army in attendance. That gives Kenny Jackett’s side a 58.5 percent win rate at home with fans. But compare that to this season’s 16 league games behind closed doors at Fratton Park, they have lost just as many games as they have won (six), giving Pompey a 37.5 percent win rate without fans in attendance.
The Blues never do anything the easy way, but that is just Pompey. After 29 games, it’s fair to say Portsmouth still find themselves in a strong position to battle it out for automatic promotion. But they are to face the likes of Doncaster, Sunderland and Peterborough in their next five games, with Gillingham and Northampton in there too. These results will help determine whether they are top two contenders or if they are destined for yet another play-off finish at best.
This season, the first goal in the match has proved decisive. In all competitions, Pompey have lost just one game in which they have scored the first goal, with that loss coming against Bristol Rovers last week. This means they have an impressive 91 percent win rate when netting first this season.
However on the flip side, Jackett’s men have struggled when they have conceded the first goal. In the 14 games in which their opponents have taken the lead, the Blues have won only one match. A victory via a penalty shootout against Stevenage first game of the season in the Carabao Cup being the only one. A significant and potentially worrying stat being that Portsmouth have gone on to lose 79 percent of the games in which they have conceded first this season.
Scoring the first goal is something Pompey have come to rely upon. But as they have seen many times this season, it won’t always be like that. They will not always score first and for that reason, the reaction after going behind is an area in which needs improving during the final 17 games of the campaign, particularly if they are to be serious automatic promotion contenders.
And yet, they still sit in a good position, sitting six points outside the automatic promotion spots in fourth place. On Saturday, Gillingham are up next as Kenny Jackett’s men will be hoping to really lay down a marker and declare that this year is finally their year.