Late Green strike takes Pompey through

Andre Green’s deflected strike in the 90th minute secured Portsmouth a 1-0 win against Rochdale at the Crown Oil Arena.

In the dying embers of a low-key second-round contest, a cleverly-worked free-kick from Kenny Jackett’s men was fed to Green on the edge of the area and his shot struck defender Ryan Delaney, wrong-footing goalkeeper Josh Lillis and looping into the net.

The first half took time to get going with few chances of note until the closing minutes of the period when Jordan Williams was narrowly wide with an angled drive. Pompey went even closer, Ronan Curtis’ superb run forward ending with a thumping 20-yard effort which slammed against the crossbar.

Dale, who largely dominated the second half, were a whisker away from breaking the deadlock in the 69th minute when Matt Done and Williams combined down the left flank, Done carrying the ball into the area before firing towards the roof of Craig MacGillivray’s net only to see his effort slam against the crossbar.

Green’s deflected effort came against the run of play and too late for Keith Hill’s side to salvage the replay their efforts deserved.