The ACN Match Review 24/25 – Portsmouth (h) | OneFootball

How did we play?

There’s a lot of conjecture on other channels about why we played like we did so I’ll stick to what I observed.

Marcelino Núñez was rarely involved, substituted at half time; Josh Sargent thumped in an equaliser that he didn’t celebrate – substituted at half time; Kellen Fisher regularly outpaced going forwards and tracking back; George Long parrying too many balls back into play; Oscar Schwartau struggling to get to grips with an unfamiliar left midfield role; Jose Cordoba having a dose of the Bassongs; Jacob Wright trying to play a patient passing game but getting overwhelmed in midfield; Kenny Maclean starting at left back but insisting on stepping into central midfield, giving the defence no out ball on their left hand side; Big Anis Ben Slimane losing out in physical battles; Borja Sainz giving it his best but realising this division’s defenders have sussed him out by showing him onto his left foot.

This was less a performance, more a game involving a set of yellow and green-clad players who simply existed on the same pitch.

What was the best bit of the game?

Josh Sargent’s equaliser was absolutely smashed home from a rebound, with the kind of authority that says ‘don’t mess with us’. However…

What was the worst bit of the game?

… the remaining 25 minutes of the first half did no justice to Sargent’s goal, as Norwich left big gaps in midfield for Portsmouth to play through, round and over us at will.

What was the atmosphere like?

I’d forgotten how impressively loud Portsmouth’s support is, even if they do insist on ringing that bloody bell. Fair play to them. From our perspective, we couldn’t even be bothered to reply with the customary, “You can stick your fucking bell up your arse”. We even booed the half-time crossbar challenge more heartily than anything on the pitch.

Hero of the match

Jack Stacey came on at half-time and gave it his all, scoring a great goal and generally trying to drive us up the pitch as best he could. He also gave a commendably honest and thoughtful post-match interview to BBC Norfolk about the effects of the lack of consistency in recent team selection and how he feels as a player at this stage of the season.

Summary in Five Words

Can’t wait for pre-season.