Forgotten Portsmouth man set for chance to impress as John Mousinho pencils in friendly opportunity

John Mousinho wants his fringe players to gain precious match minutes before the Blues’ return to action at QPR on October 19.

Friday is earmarked as a potential date to stage the fixture, which is likely to be held at their Copnor Road training ground, although the opposition is still being finalised.

Pompey previously faced Havant & Waterlooville in a friendly during last month’s international break, winning 3-0 over a 60-minute match.

And with the likes of Owen Moxon desperately short of match action since August, a Friday game offers a great opportunity for him to impress.

Mousinho told The News: ‘We are thinking about having a friendly on Friday, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet.

‘It’s to give minutes to the lads. We’ve got a lot of players who need the minutes and players who could do with it. It gives us the chance to work on a few bits.’

Pompey fans have questioned the ongoing absence of Moxon from Pompey’s 20-man squad since featuring as a substitute at Middlesbrough in August.

The former Carlisle man gave away the 90th-minute penalty which was converted by Tommy Conway to secure the hosts a 2-2 draw against the Blues.

Also out of favour at present is Jordan Archer, who has been relegated to third-choice goalkeeper since the arrival of Nicolas Schmid at the end of the transfer window.

Archer did return to the bench last weekend against Oxford United following Schmid’s selection in place of Will Norris from the starting XI, with Norris omitted from the squad entirely.

However, the summer recruit from QPR has still to make his Pompey debut, after being unused from the bench in five matches in all competitions this term.