John Mousinho praises performance as 10-man Portsmouth ease past Peterborough

Posted Sunday, September 03, 2023 by PA

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho was pleased to see his side extend their unbeaten league run to 17 games with a 3-1 win over Peterborough.

Colby Bishop was among the goals as Pompey came from behind to take the points.

Mousinho said: “We didn’t start particularly well but we became more consistent as the game went on, especially in the second half. I thought in that second period that we were the only side that looked like scoring.

“It seems to be a pivotal moment in the season by putting a marker down against one of the best teams in the league.

“We changed the way we pressed early on because (Peterborough defender Ronnie) Edwards was having too much time on the ball bringing it out.

“After that, I felt that we got the bit between the teeth having gone a goal down.

“The only criticism I would have is that we didn’t get a fourth, but we defended extremely well especially when down to 10 men.”

Posh took the lead after 20 minutes minutes as, with plenty of room and only one defender to beat, Ricky Jade Jones cut inside and curled the ball into the far corner.

Pompey equalised in the 38th minute when a Marlon Pack cross found Bishop, who headed home from close range.

Within five minutes, Pompey had the lead. A corner from the right saw Kwame Poku slice the ball into his own six-yard box for a surprised Abu Kamara to sweep home.

After Hector Kyprianou headed against his own bar, Pompey increased their lead after 59 minutes when a powerful low cross from Kamara saw Regan Poole net from close range.

Joe Morrell saw red after a second yellow five minutes from time, but Pompey held on for the points despite nine added minutes of play.

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson said: “It’s a disappointing result. Nobody likes losing, but that’s three defeats in a row now.

“We’ve got an extremely young squad and I’m not sure we are quite ready yet for this sort of game.

“It’s always a difficult place to come and we need to learn to keep our focus and concentration. That is key to getting results. We just haven’t got that ruthless touch at the moment.

“We started well. Ricky scored and missed a good chance for 2-0. He was a thorn in their side until he went off. He turned his ankle after hitting the barriers, took another knock after that, and had to come off.”