Jackett rues missed opportunities as Portsmouth see lead cut to two points

Posted Sunday, October 28, 2018 by PA

Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett was frustrated that his league leaders paid for missing a host of chances in the first half-hour as they drew 1-1 with Accrington Stanley.

Pompey started strongly and had a number of good opportunities with Stanley goalkeeper Connor Ripley having to be on top of his game to deny Gareth Evans, Jamal Lowe and Ronan Curtis.

However, the home side got back into the game and missed a great chance to take the lead when Billy Kee’s 32nd-minute penalty was saved by Craig MacGillivray after the goalkeeper had fouled the striker.

Ronan hit the crossbar for Pompey after the break before they took the lead through an Oli Hawkins strike after 62 minutes – his third goal in three games.

Two minutes later Stanley equalised when Michael Ihiekwe headed home a Sean McConville free-kick – and neither side could grab a winner.

“For the first 20-30 minutes we played very well, we had the wind behind us and we needed to score when we were on top in that period,” said Jackett, whose side have seen their gap at the top cut to two points.

“When you dominate and make chances, you need to take them and we didn’t.

“They then got the penalty, and it looked a penalty to me, and Craig has produced a fantastic save to make up for the mistake he made to give it away.

“For the first 15 minutes of the second half we were on top and went 1-0 up.

“But then immediately we gave a goal away from a set-piece and it went scrappy.

“I have mixed feelings about the result as this is a difficult place to come but we started so strongly and were dominant – we just didn’t score.”

Stanley boss John Coleman said a draw was probably a fair result.

“For the first 25 minutes they battered us and had four or five good chances. Then we came into the game, missed the penalty and pinned them back.

“In the second half, I thought we were excellent. They only had two chances – they hit the post and they scored – but it was one-way traffic, we just made the wrong decision with the final pass.

“We are disappointed we haven’t beaten the league leaders which shows how far we have come, but the league is very early days.

“I am frustrated we gave away a goal from a set-play but we kept knocking on the door and got the goal back. Once we equalised we looked like the team who would win it.”