Portsmouth boss' delight at Sunderland payback after side's struggles

Danny Cowley watched his side put Sunderland to the sword and told fans: We owed you that.
Danny CowleyDanny Cowley
Danny Cowley

The Pompey boss spoke of his delight at the efforts of his men, as they delivered an outstanding 4-0 win over the League One leaders in the rain at Fratton Park.

Cowley felt it was a display which was desperately needed after the wretched 2-1 loss at Burton Albion on Tuesday night.

He said: ‘It was a really good performance.

‘We started the game with real purpose and real intent.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘Our energy and pressure on the ball was excellent and that allowed us to get a foothold in the game.

‘The difference between this game and recent weeks was we took our chances when they came.

‘We let ourselves down on Tuesday and we know we let down people we care for.

‘It’s been a long, tough week and we knew we owed everyone a performance.’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The conditions proved a big talking point as the rain poured throughout leading to surface water on the pitch.

There were some fears the game would be abandoned, but Cowley was pleased with how his side adjusted to the issues the rain presented.

He added: ‘We were really good going into the shallow end!

‘I can understand that (Sunderland wanting the game to be abandoned) especially when they are 3-0 down.

‘I didn’t think it was that bad, especially after we gave Joe Morrell some armbands!

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘It’s English football, I thought it was great. We anticipated it being like that and prepared for it.

‘We couldn’t take so much risk in our own half, but I thought we managed the conditions really well.’

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.