Gaffer: Keeping everyone happy in the Portsmouth squad so difficult

So no cup upset then.

The first half was flat at times, it was tight as well, with Maidenhead hitting the post, and a little bit of frustration was creeping in.

We had the quality, but Jamal Lowe missed a couple of chances. Then we scored just before half-time and it shocked Maidenhead a bit.

Once Hawkins made it 2-0 the match went a bit flat and turned into a routine win, having a pre-season feel about it at times. It was almost inevitable we scored a couple more goals.

Originally, I thought Kenny Jackett should have made a few changes, but with us not playing for few weeks, I can understand his selection. Once we were well in the lead he also used his subs and tried a few different things.

 

Who was your man of the match?

It's a very, very hard decision to chose between Ben Thompson and Ronan Curtis, but it is the Millwall loanee who edges it.

Thompson was solid in the middle again and the worrying thing is he is performing so well at the moment that he may get recalled in January. He's getting better and better.

Curtis played very well in the first half especially, consistently beating his man and putting balls into the box. He had a great game again.

He has so much effort and desire and you could see the emotion when he assisted Ben Thompson's opener.

 

Another cup goal for David Wheeler as well.

Yes, well done to him, it was a good header having been in the right place at the right time, although I still didn't see that much of him.

The manager is going to have trouble keeping people happy, however, and we may lose some in January as we cannot give them the game time they need.

Do they want to sit around for six months on the bench for the remainder of the season? Saturday would have been perfect to give Louis Dennis 30 minutes, but that didn't happen.

You would think Dennis and Danny Rose may go elsewhere, but I don't expect too many changes. We look good and I'm sure the manager's confident in what we have.

 

What are you thoughts on York Road?

You are reminded of it being a non-league ground when the rain came down and everyone gets soaked, while the ExpressFM boys were stood up broadcasting among loads of wires.

In the first half, Gareth Evans was taking corners right in front of us and we were complimenting him on how he was looking good. He thanked us!

It's just a bit of banter and shows the unique football experienced when you can reach out and touch the players.

As for the leaves on the pitch, it was like a Sunday League game!

 

Ratings

Craig MacGillivray 8

Nathan Thompson 7

Jack Whatmough 7

Matt Clarke 8

Lee Brown 7

Tom Naylor 8

Ben Thompson 9

Jamal Lowe 7

Gareth Evans 7

Ronan Curtis 9

Oli Hawkins 8