We’re disappointed not to win – Danny Cowley feels Pompey deserved Exeter points

Posted Tuesday, December 27, 2022 by PA

Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley felt his side deserved to win their League One clash at Exeter based on the number of chances created.

Clear-cut opportunities were at a premium, but it was Exeter’s Jamal Blackman that was the busier of the two goalkeepers, making saves to deny Owen Dale, Michael Morrison and his own midfielder Archie Collins, who came close to putting through his own goal.

“It was a good performance away from home,” Cowley said. “I thought we had good control and dominance. I am not sure what the shot count was, but I anticipate that it was strongly in our favour.

“If we are honest and critical with ourselves, we have to be more clinical in the first half when we had a lot of free-kicks around their box – and corners.

“We had good opportunities in that period. The first half we were a real threat from set-pieces but not as much in the second half.

“We have defended well as a group, giving an Exeter team – who are very good at home – very little in terms of moments in our box. We are disappointed not to win.

“We were trying to win the game, we have had heavy illness all week and we had to change the team about 15 times. It has been really tough. Ultimately it had an impact on the team that we picked.

“We scored three against Stevenage, three against MK Dons and two against Ipswich away and created chances and we just need to find the first goal. When you find the first goal, it is much easier to then find the second goal.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell said: “I thought it was an entertaining 0-0 game. I thought both teams had spells in the game where they dominated, and I think a draw was probably the fair result.

“I thought we created opportunities, but in the final third, I just felt we could have made an extra pass or combined better in the final third to get a real good chance off.

“I thought they played a big, physical team and tried to bombard us and I thought that we stood up to that really well.

“I was delighted to get a clean sheet. I was delighted with the front players’ energy and the way we pressed; delighted with the midfielders recovering, back-tackling and fouling at the right times and delighted with the defenders and the way they competed against a really physical team.

“Pompey had a lot of corners and put us under pressure, which we knew was going to come, but we stood up to that test very well and had our moments in the game where we played some good football – and but for that bit of quality in the final third, I think that was the difference to us going on and winning the game.”