Gaffer: Portsmouth made mistakes with ticketing - but the moaners have been out in force

Firstly, how did you find getting tickets with an increase in attendance of 3,001?

I must be in the minority from what I have read.

I went online, bought three tickets for the game, had a slight problem with the second level of authorisation on my credit card, but still did it quickly.

No names, but certain people on social media jumped on the attendance issue, any opportunity to hit the club with. I still believe the majority of fans had no problems.

I’m not denying that the club could have organised this better, Andy Cullen was hiding behind excuses in his Radio Solent interview.

The club have not done particularly well – it's a baptism of fire for Mr Cullen.

But the moaners have all been out in force, leading a bit of a knee-jerk reaction.

How do you think Pompey played?

It was a game of two halves. We started brilliantly, yet didn’t capitalise.

Then, in the second half, both teams seemed to go at it. It became a proper football match.

Our whole team seems to be working hard, with John Marquis still running down defenders in the 93rd minute. I love that enthusiasm.

Under that late pressure, previous Pompey teams would have capitulated and conceded twice – not this one.

The only thing that made me nervous was that bloke running around in yellow!

Which players stood out for you?

Sean Raggett was outstanding, especially in the second half when we were put under real pressure.

He has started the season well and looked comfortable on the ball, while the partnership with Clark Robertson has gelled really quickly.

You need work horses in your team like Raggett. He’s a good, old fashioned, jump and hoof it into Row Z kind of player.

I like that. He was immense against Shrewsbury and my man of the match.

So that’s three wins out of three – how do you think Pompey will do this season?

The second half showed that we were not quite there yet, the Cowleys still have some work to do.

Gavin Bazunu made some great saves, his distribution was brilliant, but I’m concerned that he doesn’t come for crosses. He needs a presence there.

I’m hoping we’ll get a bit of creativity in midfield. If teams come here and park the bus, we don’t have the bit of skill to break them down.

Also, I’m still not sure about Marquis, he runs around up front like a busy fool and should be stronger with his back to goal.

For me, it’s the play-offs. But we’re top of the league at the moment – so let’s go for it!

Gavin Bazunu 8

Kieron Freeman 7

Sean Raggett 8

Clark Robertson 6 (Connor Ogilvie 7)

Lee Brown 7

Shaun Williams 7

Ryan Tunnicliffe 8

Marcus Harness 7 (Gassan Ahadme 6)

Ronan Curtis 7

Reeco Hackett-Fairchild 7

John Marquis 6

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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