Familiar striking name impresses for Pompey youngsters

And Mikey Harris believes the Academy striker is moving in the right direction to establish himself in the game.

Harvey Bradbury netted both goals in the under-18’s 2-1 victory over Yeovil last weekend.

It took the tall striker’s tally to 14 in 26 appearances this season as he maintains the pace as leading scorer.

The son of former Blues player and current Hawks boss Lee, he continues to impress as he nears the end of a two-year scholarship.

And coach Harris was delighted with the youngster’s latest contribution.

He said: ‘Harvey has scored fairly regularly this season, although will feel he should have scored more goals because he is that sort of lad, he puts himself under a lot of pressure, perhaps too much at times.

‘When he is confident and firing then he is a handful and did well on Saturday.

‘It’s a team performance, though, Harvey takes the plaudits because of his two goals but I was really happy with the whole performance.

‘All the same, he’s athletic, is 6ft 2in, puts himself around, works very, very hard for the team and his record suggests he can score goals.

‘He has some good attributes. A lot of things also need to improve, but Harvey’s certainly moving in the right direction.’

Bradbury is not alone on Pompey’s books in having a father who has played professional football.

Team-mate Theo Widdrington’s dad, Tommy, featured for Southampton in the Premier League before going on to represent Grimsby and Port Vale.

Lee Bradbury, of course, had two spells at Fratton Park, while also lined-up for Manchester City and Crystal Palace among others.

And Harris believes following in the path of a footballing father can be a mixed bag.

He added: ‘I think there are advantages and disadvantages to it.

‘Obviously the pressure of living up to your dad’s exploits is probably one of the negatives because it’s very, very difficult when your father has had a successful professional football career,

‘The positive part of it is you have an expert in your household to learn from and they can talk about their experiences.

‘Mind you, I am not sure how much kids these days fully utilise that advantage!’

Pompey’s Academy are next in action when they host Peterborough at Furze Lane on Saturday (11am).

The Posh are current top of Merit League Two with a 100-per-cent winning return from their three matches.