Portsmouth faithful at risk of disappointment as Bristol Rovers and Reading away ticket news emerges

A major date in the footballing calendar, the festive fixture is a traditional day out for many – whether Pompey are at home or away.

This year’s Boxing Day match, however, could force some of the travelling Fratton faithful to stay at home.

Pompey’s hosts that day are currently working on a new south stand at the Memorial Stadium which houses away supporters. As a result, that will significantly impact the number of Blues fans who will be allowed to attend.

For last season’s 2-0 away win at Rovers in March, John Mousinho’s side were accompanied by 1,275 away supporters. This term, that figure could be as low as 500 – although, Pompey are hopefully another 200 tickets might still come their way.

With Pompey averaging 1,411 travelling fans for their five away games to date, it’s no wonder director of sales Mark Judges is anticipating a challenge.

Speaking at the recent Tony Goodall Fans’ Conference, he said: ‘We have to be honest – there will be disappointed fans this season, with demand so high (for away games). Bristol Rovers is likely to be the most challenging game of the year for us from a ticketing point of view.’

Chief executive Andy Cullen added: ‘Bristol Rovers are only able to provide around 500 tickets currently due to the reconstruction of their away stand. There’s a possibility we may get 200 more, but it’s certainly likely to be a very low allocation and there will be very high demand for this Boxing Day fixture.’

Pompey fans face further disappointment with news that Pompey’s request for additional tickets for this month’s trip to Reading has been turned down.

The Blues have been allocated just under 3,000 places for the Madejski Stadium fixture on Saturday, October 28. But given Reading’s proximity to Portsmouth and the Royals’ struggles to meet their 24,000-plus ground capacity this season, an application was made to increase that total.

Cullen said: ‘I did call their Operations Director to ask for more. The response was that we had already been given more than they are obliged to under EFL regulations (2,000), and that their SAG (Safety Advisory Group) would not allow any more due to the stadium layout. We have though managed to secure a small number of additional hospitality tickets adjacent to the away end.’

Judges added: ‘We’ve got around 80 of these hospitality tickets, which we’re in the process of getting onto the system and working out a fair way to offer these out to fans. They will be priced at a premium.’

It’s worth noting, several Pompey supporters have contacted Reading directly in regards to these hospitality tickets and the Royals have themselves directly sold most of these places. All remaining hospitality places can be booked by calling Reading on 0118 968 1313.