Portsmouth held to goalless stalemate by Shrewsbury

Posted Sunday, September 13, 2020 by PA

Promotion hopefuls Portsmouth made a disappointing start to their Sky Bet League One campaign after being held to a goalless draw at home by Shrewsbury.

Only a stunning late save from goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray four minutes from time – acrobatically palming away a powerful close-range effort from Rekeil Pike – denied the Shrews all three points.

Yet Portsmouth, who had Aaron Pierre sent off in stoppage time, could have stolen the win themselves as captain Tom Naylor saw a header fly over via the crossbar.

It was the visitors who came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half.

Pompey struggled to cope with set-pieces all afternoon and, from a corner, midfielder Brad Walker thumped a header against a post.

When Portsmouth did get a shot on target they were kept out by Shrewsbury’s impressive debutant goalkeeper Matija Sarkic – on loan from Wolves.

Sarkic denied the home side twice in the second half, clutching Naylor’s 18-yard volleyed effort and then pushing Lee Brown’s free-kick around a post four minutes into stoppage time after Pierre had been dismissed for a second yellow card.