After nine years, shot-shy Portsmouth have drawn a blank following Shrewsbury stalemate

Saturday’s disappointing goalless draw with Shrewsbury also signified just a sixth blank for the first home game since the turn of the century.

Kenny Jackett’s man served up an uninspiring display in Saturday’s curtain raiser to the 2020-21 League One campaign.

While the match was played behind closed doors, the Fratton faithful were able to keep an eye on proceedings through iFollow.

However, they were served up Fratton Park’s first blank from an opening league match since August 2011.

Back then, new boss Steve Cotterill had overseen a 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough for his maiden fixture in charge.

The visit of Barnet in the League Cup kicked off the season at Fratton Park – and would end in an embarrassing 1-0 defeat.

Yet, the following Saturday, Brighton arrived in the Championship, yielding the same scoreline.

Since then, the Blues have netted in each opening league game at home during every campaign.

That was until Saturday, when they failed to breach a Shrewsbury side which last term finished 15th.

Since the 2011-12 season, the Blues have kicked off their Fratton Park league programme by netting against Bournemouth (2012), Oxford (2013), Cambridge United (2014), Dagenham & Redbridge (2015), Carlisle (2016), Rochdale (2017), Luton (2018) and Tranmere (2019).

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The clash with the Daggers, in particular, was a memorable one, with Paul Cook’s side triumphing 3-0 in the first match of his era as boss.

Debutants Kyle Bennett (two) and Gareth Evans registered on a glorious south-coast afternoon to kick off life under the recently-appointed boss.

On the flipside, the August 2013 defeat to Oxford remains a painful recollection for Blues followers.

On the day the ‘Ours’ tribute was unveiled by the Fratton end, Guy Whittingham’s side took a 1-0 lead, only to slump to a 4-1 loss, while skipper Johnny Ertl was dismissed.

Last term, Jackett’s men claimed a 2-0 success over Tranmere in the first League One game at Fratton Park.

That had followed a 3-0 victory over Birmingham in the Carabao Cup for the season’s opening home match.

Records show the Blues have failed to kick off a home campaign with a goal on six occasions in the last 21 years.

Since 2000, they have drawn blanks against Bradford (2001), Spurs (2005), Manchester United (2008), Fulham (2009), Brighton (2011) and now Shrewsbury.

Notable exceptions are Pompey’s Premier League debut, when they beat Villa 2-1 in August 2003 and Kanu grabbing two goals on his Blues bow in a 3-0 victory over Blackburn in August 2006.

Of course, Jackett’s men had this term already won at Stevenage in the Carabao Cup and beaten Colchester in the EFL Trophy before Shrewsbury.

However, Saturday represented their first fixture of the League One campaign – and a maiden Fratton Park blank in nine years.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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