Praise for Pompey young guns

A side containing plenty of young members of Paul Cook’s squad picked up a 4-1 win at Bognor tonight.

The Blues employed a diamond formation as they looked at their options as the countdown to the season continued.

First-team coach, Ian Foster, was encouraged by the application of the fringe players pushing for playing time.

He said: ‘We picked a young team because we’re aware of the match minutes these players need.

‘But we went out, had a good game of football and adapted to a different system.

‘The rotation in midfield was positive and we scored some quality goals.

‘You always have to be adaptable and we look at different formations.

‘The young players have stated their case and we have competition all over the pitch.’