'Everything we had seen on video' - unusual Portsmouth tactic pays off as John Mousinho hails Australian's instant impact

The Australian striker bagged a hat-trick in his very first outing as a Blues player as the Fratton Park outfit recorded a 9-1 pre-season victory against Crawley on Saturday.

The game at Pompey’s Hilsea training base was played behind closed doors, meaning Blues fans are yet to see the 24-year-old in action following his move from Western Sydney Wanderers for an undisclosed fee on July 2.

That means the Fratton faithful have had to rely on the odd bit of video footage that’s emerged on social media to see how Yengi despatched his three goals against Scott Lindsey’s side.

Watching online clips is something similar to what Pompey had to do when they scouted the front man during his A-League days.

But after seeing what the Australian is capable off in the flesh three weeks on from his UK arrival, Mousinho is delighted with what’s he’s seeing from the 24-year-old.

And he’s more than happy to share those thoughts with the fans, who will now have to wait until Tuesday’s night’s game against AFC Wimbledon to make up their own minds.

Speaking to The News after Saturday’s 9-1 thumping, Mousinho said: ‘This was Kusini’s first minutes since the back end of the A-League season last year. We wanted to manage him back in because it’s been a pretty hectic few weeks after coming over from Australia and getting settled into life in Portsmouth.

‘On top of that, he picked up a little ankle injury in training last week. So to get him back was brilliant and he looks a really exciting prospect.

‘Everything we had seen on video – because he was the one player we actually didn’t manage to scout live – and all the due diligence and work we done, it looks like (it’s paying off).

‘Obviously, it’s early days but it looks a pretty good start to his Portsmouth career.

‘We’re really pleased with his finishes (on Saturday) and really pleased with his contribution in general – getting the ball forward, running forward, passing forward, getting the crosses in early. I think he had a couple more opportunities and one was cleared off the line as well.

‘It’s nice to get a result like that but the more important thing is actually seeing some of those patterns and some of the positive things we’ve been working at in training come out in the game.’

Yengi bagged his hat-trick during a 22-minute spell, after being introduced to the action on 74 muinutes.

He ended up playing 46 minutes in total, with the game played over four 30-minute periods. But he wasn’t the only Pompey striker to register, with Colby Bishop and Christian Saydee also on target against the Reds.

That’s presented Mousinho with a selection headache, with the Blues’ season-opener against Bristol Rovers just 12 days away.

But it’s a headache he welcomes as Pompey boast options in their attacking department.

The Blues head coach said: ‘It’s brilliant the competition up front. It’s really fierce.

‘Christian scored again on Saturday. He looked sharp, played in a slightly different role as well off the centre-forward, which I think suited him really well.

‘Colby got a goal, too, so all three centre forwards actually scored and that’s a really good problem I guess for us to have.’