Liam Daish insists scoreline harsh as Portsmouth kids suffer late loss at Aldershot

Pompey’s youngsters earned praise following late, late heartbreak at Aldershot.
23/7/19

Story: Pompey vs Aldershot
Aldershot FC

Pictured:  Stan Bridgman

Picture: Habibur Rahman23/7/19

Story: Pompey vs Aldershot
Aldershot FC

Pictured:  Stan Bridgman

Picture: Habibur Rahman
23/7/19 Story: Pompey vs Aldershot Aldershot FC Pictured: Stan Bridgman Picture: Habibur Rahman

Mark Kelly’s kids stepped up to carry out Pompey XI duties at the National League side, after the first-team squad drew 1-1 at Brighton earlier in the day.

Up until the 80th minute, the Recreation Ground scoreline was goalless, as the youthful Blues more than held their own.

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Yet four goals in the final 10 minutes produced a 4-0 outcome which didn’t accurately reflect the game.

And professional development phase coach, Liam Daish, applauded the players’ application.

He said: ‘I looked at the clock and there were 12 or 13 minutes left. Maybe it was tired legs or a lack of concentration, but Aldershot scored a couple of quick goals.

‘Overall, I thought the lads were excellent bearing in mind the side we had out, we played a lot of 16-year-olds, some of which have just started their football journey on a professional level.

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‘We were playing against a National League side – and learning what we did there is invaluable.

‘I possibly thought the scoreline was harsh, we looked quite strong in parts of the game, especially the second half going forward, but we’ve got a lot of young players out there and a little bit of inexperience.

‘We looked fairly comfortable, but you take a couple of little mistakes and it can lead to bigger things regarding goals.

‘For 80 minutes we went toe-to-toe with them and matched them really well, which is pleasing.’

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