12 months later: From Portsmouth hero to John Mousinho's most frustrating player
Presented with the ball by Gavin Whyte in the left channel, Kusini Yengi was confronted by Ronnie Edwards during the promising counter-attack.
Opting for directness, the Australian drove on the outside of Peterborough’s centre-half, producing a clever faint in the process, and creating sufficient space to fire off a sublime left-footed finish.
That 77th-minute winner convinced many of the Fratton faithful this would truly be Pompey’s season. Finally, the Blues were returning to the Championship.
Sunday marked the first anniversary of that iconic London Road moment, yet for Yengi, it must feel a lifetime ago.
Widely pilloried for his underwhelming Preston North End showing in the weekend’s 2-1 defeat, past accomplishments have been long forgotten. Time moves at breakneck speed.
During his maiden season in English football, the capture from Western Sydney Wanderers registered 13 goals and two assists in 31 appearances, primarily as a game changer off the bench.
In a League One title-winning campaign, only 21-goal Colby Bishop scored more. Indeed, towards the end of the season, a proportion of the Blues support were arguing Yengi should start consistently ahead of the man with the magic hat.
Heady days for the Australian striker who, frustratingly, has since failed to come even remotely close to again scaling such lofty heights, albeit with some mitigation.
In the 12 months since that Peterborough highlight, Yengi has made just 18 Pompey appearances and scored twice. The last time he netted in a competitive game was against Wigan in the penultimate League One fixture - in April 2024.
Crucially, during that period he has missed 27 matches as a consequence of three injury spells, equating to being unavailable for first-team selection for four months of this season.
Taking such factors into consideration, it’s perhaps inevitable that one of the heroes of last season’s promotion success would struggle for form in the Championship to date.
At Deepdale, Yengi was handed his first league start since November 9 - ironically that also was against Preston - and employed as the central striker, with Bishop operating behind.
The 26-year-old lasted 68 minutes before being replaced by Mark O’Mahony, with the scoreline goalless at the time and the Australian having failed to impress.
Many supporters felt he should have been withdrawn at half-time during a sluggish display, nonetheless John Mousinho kept faith. In fairness, noticeably there was a greater intensity about his pressing after the break.
‘It was his first start since November, it takes time, that’s why we brought him off. There were a few things, half a yard here, half a yard there, a few things he didn’t quite get to and that’s the nature of trying to get back into it and trying to adjust quickly.’
Representing just a third first-team outing in the last four months, there is unquestionably a validity about Mousinho’s argument that Yengi is still feeling his way back. The lack of consistent football, combined with injuries, have devastated his progress.
Shining with Australia
However, it still represented another underwhelming outing in the Championship for a player who has still to prove he is capable of performing at this level following 11 outings.
Perhaps international duty with Australia can provide a timely change of scenery, with World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia (March 20) and China (March 25) on the fixture list, thereby offering more precious game time.
On the flipside, it is not unreasonable to fear another set-back for Yengi, who returned from his last spell with the Socceroos in November with posterior cruciate ligament damage to his knee, having scored twice against Bahrain.
Indeed, he has flourished in international football since making his debut while with Pompey, with six goals in seven appearances over the last 12 months.
Yet with his Fratton Park contract up this summer, and influenced by a disappointing season for the striker, he has much work to do to convince some on England’s south coast that he warrants an ongoing future with the Blues.
The likelihood is Pompey will take up the 12-month option on Yengi’s contract, representing business common sense for a player who remains a sellable asset, irrespective of his current form struggles.
We have seen Kusini Yengi at his best, there is talent, pace, physicality, delicious goal-scoring potential and a penchant for moments of magic. None of that should be forgotten, pivotal title-winning players don’t suddenly become poor.
The problem is, however, it has been 12 months since Peterborough.
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