Pompey boss John Mousinho was in attendance at Fratton Park last night, looking on as the Academy lost 3-1 to Preson North End in the Youth Alliance Cup Final.
The Head Coach was joined in the Director’s seating by Richard Hughes, Andy Cullen and even Women’s First Team Manager, Jay Sadler. They were accompanied by 904 supporters that braved the rain at Fratton under the lights.
It was a chance for the youngsters to impress the senior leadership team, and some had performances to be proud of.
Pompey Academy more than held their own against a physical, clinical Preston team that are top of their division. The scoreline perhaps flattered the visitors, with individual defensive errors being the cause of Preston’s second and third goals.
Harry Clout, in particular, looked lively down the left and exploited the space left by Preston’s RWB, who was not overly keen on tracking back. Laidlaw also found some success down that same channel, and a little more accuracy from his crossing could have caused some real problems.
There were certainly positives to take from the game, but the squad looked some distance away from threatening first-team minutes in the near future.
