Chances are missing rather than missed as John Marquis seeks Portsmouth ammunition to thrive

John Marquis returned to goal-scoring ways against Lincoln on Tuesday night. Picture: Joe Pepler

Delving into his memory, the tally reaches three, before hitting a wall. He has, of course, an excellent point.

The striker rattled off 26 goals for Doncaster last season – on Tuesday evening he registered his third in 16 Blues appearances.

Pompey’s poor start to the season has impacted upon Marquis, who has been starved of regular service as a consequence.

The hard-working forward has been denied the procession of chances he thrived upon at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Now he’s hoping his Lincoln match-winner may signal a crucial breakthrough.

Marquis said: ‘If you are not getting chances, you have to believe they are going to keep coming and you’ll get the opportunities.

‘You try not to get too despondent.

‘Last season I played in a team which created a lot of chances, a couple of chances a game. This is how it is at the moment, it doesn’t mean it won't happen, it doesn't mean it won't change.

‘All of a sudden something may click and our creativity gets a bit better, we haven’t got bad players here, just possibly a little low on confidence, but it’s down to us to find it.

‘Probably the AFC Wimbledon game was a decent chance, the defender came across towards the end of it. Before that, there's not many good chances I should have done better with.

'There’s one at Sunderland, the keeper saving at Blackpool, but I can’t think of many others where I felt I should have scored.

‘Tuesday was more of a reactive one where I’m on the move in the box, anticipating where the ball might fall.

‘Keep getting into the areas, something is going to change, it will change, I’m sure of it.’

Marquis’ close-range finish against Lincoln represented a first goal in 11 matches.

And he senses scoring matters may be about to change for the better.

He added: ‘I’m still trying to adjust to how the setup is here, while others are trying to adjust to me as well.

‘The last two games, especially, I feel the runs and movement have been a little bit back to more what I am used to.’