Portsmouth Away Drew 1 – 1
The coaches were booked, police leave cancelled: the south coast bubble was ready to lift off. How on earth did we get to this? Back when match day violence was a regular occurrence, you could pay on the gate for the Portsmouth game and stand on unsegregated terraces; in fact these fixtures weren’t the ones that caused the most worry. Our paths rarely crossed in the ensuing years, so maybe that’s actually the cause. As it turned out, operation bubble worked extremely well, although some will ask whether the helicopter escort was really necessary. Of course the bubble masters weren’t responsible for some odd behaviour inside the ground…
Tonda stuck with a back four at Portsmouth, but few expected Bree to be included at right back, or Matsuki and Armstrong to feature as well, for that matter – Stewart presumably was to be an impact sub, but surely better to be so far ahead for that not to be needed? Unlike in the home fixture, Saints began with an uncomplicated attacking plan and Armstrong had chances to set us on our way but he failed in a 1:1 situation with Schmid, and then the keeper made a very good save from a close range shot. That said, Pompey’s greater share of possession around the danger area meant they probably shaded the opening half. From our vantage point, there was a good view of the local intelligentsia who thought it amusing to move the ball away from the perimeter wall as visiting players tried to pick it up, but one went a stage further by grabbing hold of Scienza as the winger tried to take a throw – amazingly he remained in the ground. Just before the hour, Scienza was freed by Azaz down his wing and, unlike Armstrong, he always looked as though he would beat Schmid. Cue great rejoicing amongst the 2,651 bubble people, and also on the pitch: Harwood-Bellis was particularly exuberant in celebrating a goal with over a third of the match still to play in a mid-season Championship fixture , but his enthusiasm was matched by Scienza’s near lap of honour that included a sprint past his tormentors near the right side touchline. It was a situation that called for cool heads, and at least a peculiar pitch invasion by a corpulent Portsea Islander gave a chance for the team to get their thoughts together. Fellows, Charles, Stewart and Robinson soon replaced Matsuki, Azaz, Armstrong and Scienza, who may have been injured, but players’ heads hadn’t really cleared as a bad foul by Downes was followed by a mass brawl, while, more seriously, an exploding smoke bomb injured a ball boy – not sure which side of the fence the firework came from, but objects were being thrown from both directions, several landing on the pitch. I felt we looked capable of seeing the game out, if only we could keep out set pieces. Alas that vulnerability was exposed again in the 77th minute when Adams bundled the ball over the line in the scramble that followed an inswinger. After that, Saints never looked like scoring again while there was always a chance that our fishy friends would, so the final whistle was met with some relief. Was it all worth it? Oddly, yes it was, as the whole experience made for a fascinating day out.
Three LSSC Man of the Match candidates to choose from:
13. Léo Scienza. Had we hung on to the lead, he would have been assured of a place in the SFC pantheon.
14. James Bree. Always a reliable defender, and this was a very old fashioned game, with few subtleties, that suited him.
34. Welington Santos. The move to the left back role didn’t stop him building on a positive display on the right in the last game
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