‘Optimist’ Danny Cowley won’t give up on play-off bid

Posted Wednesday, April 06, 2022 by PA

Pompey boss Danny Cowley refused to write off Portsmouth’s Sky Bet League One play-off chances after a 1-1 draw at Bolton.

Kieran Sadlier’s penalty equaliser cancelled out Aiden O’Brien’s opener for the visitors in a result which did neither side many favours.

“I am the optimist, I believe anything is possible,” said Cowley, as Portsmouth remain 12 points off the top six with seven games remaining.

“I will let everyone else be pessimistic, I will keep going.

“I have managed in eight of the nine top divisions. No one, when I was managing Concord Rangers in the Essex Senior League, would have told me I could get to the Championship and I did (with Huddersfield).”

Hayden Carter’s foul on substitute Elias Kachunga brought Bolton’s spot-kick leveller after O’Brien’s 10th of the season at the start of the second half.

“We coached Elias at Huddersfield,” smiled Cowley. “As he came off the pitch he apologised to Nicky (Cowley, the manager’s brother and assistant).

“He bought it. You only have to look how he falls to see it was an unnatural way of falling.

“I am not criticising that though – this is football. There were four key decisions – I am not categorically saying they were or they were not but all four went against us.

“We came here to try and win and I felt we did enough to win.

“We had a good place in the game at 1-0. We had numerous moments in that period but we needed to be more clinical.”

Bolton manager Ian Evatt could not hide his frustration after his side failed to win at home for a third successive game. Wanderers are 11th and also 12 points from the top six but only have five games left.

And injuries to three players, including top scorer Dapo Afolayan and skipper Ricardo Santos, was of equal concern to the Wanderers boss.

“We are better than that,” said Evatt. “We weren’t anything like we can be.

“We lacked some zip and zest; maybe that is a fatigue issue. But you also have to give credit to the opposition.

“We were loose with some of our play. But we had some moments and if you can’t win, you don’t lose. That’s the main thing.

“Earlier in the season we would have lost that game. When we have not been at our best we have given games away, tonight we didn’t.”

Evatt admitted the hamstring injuries for Santos – unable to come out for the second half – Afolayan and Kyle Dempsey were “concerning and disruptive”.

“It seems to be one of those reasons injury-wise,” he said. “Sometimes you can go through these spells.

“The main thing is we get them in one piece and have better luck next season.

“We don’t know how bad they are at the moment but we will do due diligence wed will get them scanned.”