Pompey’s promotion push faces another setback and raises concerns over their fortunes this season

For the fourth consecutive season Pompey are setting their sights on a return to the Championship, but it hasn’t been plain sailing for the seaside city.

Despite finding themselves at the top of Sky Bet League One before Christmas, Portsmouth have since then been on a slow, downward spiral back into the play-off places, and recent results have prompted questions as to whether or not they have the minerals to play Championship football next season.

They have only won one of their last five games, with an away win at Oxford United being their only victory in the last couple of weeks. The south coast side have also seen losses to Blackpool and Bristol Rovers along the way, as well as dropped points at home to Gillingham.

For a side as strong as Pompey’s, this run of form is well below what is expected from the team. Last night’s 2-1 loss away to fellow promotion candidates Doncaster Rovers was another bitter blow in the push for second tier football. In fact, it pretty much summed up Pompey’s recent form.

One of the more notable aspects of last night’s game was the change in formation. Kenny Jackett opted for a 3-4-3 style lineup, something which Pompey fans were not expecting. A back three of Sean Raggett, Rasmus Nicolaisen and the returning Jack Whatmough set the Pompey defence, with Haji Mnoga and Charlie Daniels acting as wing-backs.

Although it looked like an interesting tactic to use, it soon became clear that it wouldn’t work very well and after just 12 minutes, Doncaster’s Reece James was able to give his side the lead. John Bostock sent in an inviting ball into the box which youngster Mnoga failed to clear, and James was able to poke it past Craig MacGillivray.

Pompey failed to respond to the early goal and headed into the break 1-0 down. This prompted a change in personnel, with Andy Cannon and John Marquis coming on for Haji Mnoga and Ronan Curtis respectively. With fresh legs off the bench, Pompey reverted back to their tried and trusted 4-4-2.

The second half saw a Pompey side who looked more comfortable with the ball but there was still a sense that the players lacked any ideas in front of goal. They were punished once again with 20 minutes left on the clock as substitute Fejiri Okenabirhie blasted the ball into the roof of the net and therefore doubled the advantage for the ruthless Rovers.

That goal seemingly decided the match and the home side were happy to see the game out. Pompey still attempted to threaten the Doncaster defence and were able to score a consolation goal in the 94th minute thanks to a Marquis volley but it was too little, too late.

Pompey now find themselves fifth in the league table, with last night’s opponents having two games in hand over them. They face relegation threatened Northampton Town on Saturday, but if they fail to win and results elsewhere don’t go their way, they could find themselves outside of the play-off spots come full time.

Before the end of 2020, it was looking great for Pompey. They had beaten Hull, Lincoln and Peterborough and were confident of finishing in the automatic places. However, this now looks too big of a challenge for them.

Their home form has been far too inconsistent for a team looking to win promotion to the Championship. Although fans aren’t allowed in grounds at the moment, the psychological advantage of playing at home is a huge bonus for teams and Pompey aren’t making the most of their opportunities to do so.

They have upcoming matches against Sunderland, Peterborough and Ipswich, with the outcome of this run of games surely being a deciding factor as to whether or not Pompey get promoted.

There are still 15 league games left for Portsmouth this season, so it may be too early to draw any conclusions but if they continue to perform like they did last night, then fans may have to endure another season in League One.

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