Portsmouth 2 Northampton Town 0 - the match report
SKY BET LEAGUE 2
Tuesday August 19th, 7.45pm
Fratton Park
PORTSMOUTH 2
Jed Wallace 26
Craig Westcarr 39
NORTHAMPTON TOWN 0
Attendance: 15,004 (366 Cobblers fans)
Portsmouth: Paul Jones, Joe Devera, Paul Robinson, Ben Chorley, Ricky Holmes (sub Danny Hollands 71), Nigel Atangana, James Dunne, Jed Wallace, Nicky Shorey, Ryan Taylor (sub Dan Butler 90), Craig Westcarr (sub Miles Storey 77).
Subs not used: Peter Brezovan, Jack Whatmough, Nick Awford, Andy Barcham
Cobblers: Matt Duke, Daniel Alfei (sub David Moyo 86), Gregor Robertson, Zander Diamond, Lee Collins, Evan Horwood (sub Lawson D’Ath 46), Ricky Ravenhill, John-Joe O’Toole, Kaid Mohamed (sub Chris Hackett 64), Ivan Toney, Marc Richards
Subs not used: Jordan Archer, Ben Tozer, Emile Sinclair, Alex Nicholls
Referee: Mr G Ward
Booked:
Portsmouth: none
Cobblers: Ricky Ravenhill (53, 1st of the season), Ivan Toney (59, 2nd)
5 cautions on or before 30 November: 1 match suspension
10 cautions on or before 11 April; 2 match suspension
15 cautions at any time in season; 3 match suspension
Sent off:
Portsmouth: none
Cobblers: none
Sendings off: 2 cautions in one game; 1 match suspension but cautions do not count towards above totals. Other sendings off; 1 or 3 match suspension. Extra match ban for additional sendings off.
Northampton Town travelled to Portsmouth on Tuesday night for their third away game in a week.
Kaid Mohammed replaced Darren Carter (hamstring) in the only change to the Cobblers side with boss Chris Wilder dealt a major injury blow in the build up to the game with Ian Morris (dislocated knee) set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The first chance of the night fell to Ivan Toney on 11 minutes but his half-volley from 20-yards went wide. Ricky Ravenhill then went close with a powerful header as the first half reached the midway point.
Portsmouth took the lead on 26 minutes, Jed Wallace firing the ball home from Nicky Shorey’s cross.
With the home side visibly buoyed by the goal, Matt Duke saved a stinging shot from Wallace on 31 minutes, tipping the goalscorer’s effort over the bar following a quick Pompey break.
Craig Westcarr made it 2-0 on 39 minutes, calmly slotting the ball past Duke after beating the off-side trap and racing clear of the Cobblers defence.
Lawson D’Ath replaced Evan Horwood at half-time with the Cobblers switching formation for the second half.
Toney saw a shot deflected wide on 57 minutes as Town looked to get themselves back into the game. John-Joe O’Toole then tried a shot from fully 30-yards which again took a deflection to go over the crossbar.
Chris Hackett replaced Kaid Mohamed in the Cobblers second change, Hackett making a return to action having missed the previous two games with a minor Achilles injury.
Paul Jones saved a shot from O’Toole as the Cobblers continued to probe the home side’s defence. Pompey went close to increasing their lead on 79 minutes however, Nigel Atangana’s shot striking the outside of the post.
David Moyo replaced former Portsmouth loanee Daniel Alfei for the final few minutes at Fratton Park as the Cobblers unbeaten start to the season came to an end.
PORTSMOUTH MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (3) 3
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (1) 4
CORNERS: (3) 6
FOULS: (4) 7
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (2) 2
COBBLERS MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (0) 3
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (4) 8
CORNERS: (2) 4
FOULS: (2) 9
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (0) 0
The above stats are recorded by club staff. The stats shown elsewhere on this page are recorded by Opta