Joe Morrell sending-off ‘baffling’, says Portsmouth boss John Mousinho

Posted Saturday, April 08, 2023 by PA

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho was mystified by the decision to send off Joe Morrell in their 1-1 draw away to MK Dons.

Connor Ogilvie’s well-struck volley gaven a dominant Pompey an early lead, but a red card for Morrell in the 39th minute drastically altered the complexion of the game.

A brief scuffle inside the Portsmouth six-yard box saw the midfielder receive his marching orders and handed the hosts a way back.

Mohamed Eisa levelled the match with 25 minutes remaining, but the visitors held firm to leave Stadium MK with a point.

Reacting to the sending-off, Mousinho said: “For me, it’s a bit of a baffling one. The linesman said he’s seen something on the blindside.

“The view I’ve seen, the MK Dons player has got Joe in a headlock. First of all, he forearms him in the face, puts him in a headlock and gets him on the ground.

“I can’t for the life of me figure out why the four referees haven’t seen that. On the footage, you can’t see anything. Joe just tries to get up from being headlocked.

“I’m pretty sure we know what everyone would do if somebody did that to them and I think Joe shows great restraint.

“It looks like we have (a chance of appealing). We’ll have to have a look and see what the referee puts in his report.”

Play-off chasing Pompey dropped five points off Peterborough in sixth, but Mousinho was undaunted by the task facing his side, starting at Fratton Park against Morecambe on Monday.

“The gap has opened up slightly, but it’s not insurmountable,” said Mousinho. “The teams in the play-off positions have tough games, so it’s quite an exciting opportunity.

“The point was really big for us, not just because of the performance and the way we did it, but also it keeps us in touch.”

MK Dons’ fifth game unbeaten, their longest run this season, left them three points above the relegation zone.

“I’m wrestling with things at the moment,” said manager Mark Jackson. “I’ve just told the players in there that we have to control our disappointment.

“Part of us is showing elements of disappointment from that result because going up against a team with 10 men for that period of time, you would probably expect to win.

“But we know how difficult it is against 10 men, against a good team who defended really, really well.

“It is a good point if we look at it – it keeps our run going. So there were elements I was pleased with and elements where we could get better as well.”