Cambridge United v Portsmouth: John Mousinho Pompey verdict

The News, Portsmouth

Cambridge United v Portsmouth: John Mousinho Pompey verdict - the Blues boss reflects on the 0-0 draw at the Abbey Stadium.

Transcript

00:00 The John Goal is at Cambridge United, what did you make of that game?

00:04 I thought it was a pretty good game of football. I thought we were very, very good in terms

00:09 of our overall performance. Excellent in the first half, we dominated pretty much in every

00:13 area. It didn't create a huge amount but sometimes when you come away from home they're tight

00:17 games and the chance we had at the back end of the first half, I think it's a double chance

00:22 that ends up at Colby's feet and it's a brilliant block from one of the Cambridge players. Obviously

00:27 we could have gone in at half-time ahead, we didn't. I think we came out in the second

00:31 half and played really well. I think we created a lot more, obviously as the game opened up

00:35 there were a few more opportunities both ends. I think the only disappointment is that we

00:39 didn't put the ball in the back of the net, I thought we defended our box brilliantly.

00:42 There was some really good play and some really good effort on display from the lads. I think

00:48 the good thing is that in the dressing room there's a bit of disappointment rather than

00:51 anything so I think it's a really good place to be.

00:53 So they are disappointed then?

00:55 Definitely, yeah. It's part of my job now to make sure that they realise that that was

01:01 a good performance and they realise that you earn the right to take a point here because

01:08 of the run that the lads have been on and the amount of wins that they've had coming

01:11 into this game. If you're ever building a campaign where you want to do anything in

01:16 the league then a point away from home sometimes isn't the end of the world. You have to make

01:20 sure that you go and back it up by winning home games and then winning the away games

01:23 where there is a weakness in the opponent. I think so far this year we've done that really

01:27 well but plenty of sides I think will be turned over here. I know Cambridge are on a bad run

01:31 but I thought their performance tonight was excellent and we unfortunately couldn't break

01:38 them down and put the ball in the back of the net but overall I'm very pleased.

01:43 You think you did enough to win it?

01:45 I thought we did. I think if you look at the chances I think we certainly did enough to

01:48 win it. I thought we had the best chance in the first half. I thought we had the better

01:52 of the second half as well. We weren't quite clinical enough. One of my disappointments

01:57 was especially when sides drop in and defend. We had quite a few opportunities to either

02:02 shoot on the edge of the box and we didn't take them or the ones that we did weren't

02:06 accurate enough and were a bit wayward. That's going to be a feature of certain games when

02:12 sides do sit in, they defend their box really well, they defend slightly deep and we've

02:16 got to be better at putting the ball in the back of the net. The players were disappointed

02:19 I think with just the quality of their finishing because we see a bit better day in day out

02:24 in training. I know it's very different in games but that would be the only criticism

02:27 I had of the boys.

02:28 Just pointing aside, a draw here, you actually extended the lead at the top of the table

02:33 as well?

02:34 Yeah I did hear that so that's obviously a positive. There's nothing we can do about

02:38 the other results but that is a positive of the night and like I said when you are trying

02:43 to achieve anything, going away to places like Cambridge on a Tuesday night and taking

02:48 the point. When I say taking the point, I thought we showed intent to try and win the

02:54 game, we brought Cassini on, Cambridge obviously brought a centre half on to shore the game

02:59 up, you saw what was happening at the end with the goalkeeper diving on the ball, they

03:01 were happy with the point, no slight on them whatsoever but that was obviously the way

03:06 that the game went. So yeah, you have to move on, you have to make sure you just follow

03:12 these results up with positive performances and results. That's the key to going here

03:16 and going there. Okay, fine, we took a point, we won it all three, we took a point. Now

03:20 when we do have a chance to take all three, we actually take it.

03:24 How's Conor Ogilvy?

03:25 Yeah, not great. I think he's in crutches and he's got a boot on in there. I saw it

03:30 really early on and sent Jack out to warm up. I didn't know what he'd done, I thought

03:33 it was a muscular injury but it's nothing to do with, it's not muscular, he slipped,

03:38 no contact, no one near him. So yeah, a bit of a concern with Conor, really gutted for

03:42 him. He's a bit disappointed in there as well so we'll see what happens on Wednesday and

03:47 Thursday, tomorrow and Thursday and see how that settles down. But I think we'll probably

03:49 be scanning it and then I'll be able to give you a bit more information at the back end

03:52 of the week.

03:53 Obviously it was a groin injury before wasn't it?

03:55 Nothing to do with that, yeah, nothing to do with that. It wasn't muscular.

03:58 How do you feel for the lad, presumably?

04:00 Of course, Conor's hardly ever been injured in his career and the disappointment obviously

04:07 that he felt up at Barnsley, that was tough for him to take because he was playing so

04:12 well and he got the goal that night and coming back into the side tonight, obviously looking

04:17 forward to get going. So yeah, tough for him but that's one of the reasons we've got the

04:21 squad, we've built it the way we have. Jack was incredibly unlucky to lose his place in

04:26 the side tonight so he's come back in and I thought he did really well coming off the

04:30 bench and it's great to see him.

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