Fine Alfie Stanley volley delivers Portsmouth reserves 1-0 victory over Millwall

Alfie Stanley celebrates his match-winner for Pompey reserves with Haji Mnoga. Picture: Colin Farmery

Alfie Stanley netted a sublime volley to deliver Pompey reserves a 1-0 victory over Millwall under-23s.

The striker settled the clash in the second half with a fine finish at Gosport Borough’s Privett Park.

Lewis Ward featured in goal for the home side, having yet to make a single first-team appearance since arriving on loan from Exeter in January.

Paul Downing skippered the side, while there was also a place in the starting line-up for Haji Mnoga.

The first chance fell to Pompey in the sixth minute when Harry Kavanagh’s free-kick picked out Mnoga, but he failed to get any real purchase on his header.

Ward was largely untested throughout the opening 45 minutes.

Millwall’s best chance arrived in the 26th minute when they headed wide from a corner.

The Blues started to get on the front foot and perhaps would have felt they should have gone into the interval ahead.

Five minutes before the break, Kavanagh’s cutback found Stanley but he was denied by the visiting keeper.

The roles were then reversed seconds before the whistle went.

Stanley thread a cute through ball for Kavanagh, who had his first effort denied by the onrushing goalkeeper before a Lions defender thwarted his follow-up.

Pompey made a change at the break when Downing was replaced by Izzy Kaba.

Millwall had the ball in the back of the net two minutes into the second period but it was disallowed for offside.

The game began to open up, with Harry Jewitt-White having an effort saved from the edge of the box for the Blues.

Then Ward was called into his first real bit of action on 63 minutes when he got down low to save a close-range header before Mnoga made a fine block.

However, 10 minutes later it was Pompey who would finally break the deadlock.

Mnoga dug out a cross from the right and Stanley did superbly to adjust his feet before firing a volley into the bottom corner.

Moments later, the Blues should have given themselves a two-goal cushion but Seok Jae Lee put his effort over when picked out by Harrison Brook.

There was a slight negative on Pompey’s afternoon when Mnoga was forced off injured in the closing stages.

But the Blues held on for a deserved win.