An ex-Portsmouth boss and brief Fratton Park favourite: The Woking reunion spearheading Blues' first summer friendly
Two familiar Portsmouth favourites will be in Woking’s camp for opening Blues friendly
Through a footballing quirk, John Mousinho’s predecessor will be in the opposition dug-out as Pompey kick off their pre-season friendly schedule.
The Blues head to National League club Woking tomorrow evening (7pm), having returned from their seven-day Slovakian training camp on Friday afternoon.
They will encounter a Cards side whose December 2024 appointment of Neal Ardley transformed them, alongside trusty assistant coach Simon Bassey, with Aiden O’Brien among the playing squad.
It was Bassey who bridged the handing over of power from Danny Cowley to Mousinho in January 2023, overseeing Pompey for three matches as caretaker boss.
Gutsy FA Cup display at Spurs
Undoubtedly, the most memorable of those fixtures was an FA Cup third-round trip to Spurs, when the then-League One Blues produced a highly credible performance in a 1-0 defeat.
With Bassey overseeing them, it took Harry Kane’s 50th-minute goal to settle matters, yet there was plenty to like about a gutsy display from the Blues, particularly Zak Swanson’s outstanding handling of Son Heung-Min.
Only Swanson, Connor Ogilvie and Colby Bishop remain from the squad on duty that day, reflecting how swiftly Pompey have progressed in the subsequent two-and-a-half years.
Nonetheless, it was still an impressive showing against the Premier League club in what was the first of Bassey’s three games in temporary charge.
Then followed two trips to Bolton inside four days - the EFL Trophy and League One - with Pompey losing both amid two disappointing displays which summed up where the side were at.
A Fratton Park departure to make way for Mousinho
There was to be no fourth fixture for Bassey, who departed on the eve of Exeter visiting Fratton Park following the surprise appointment of Mousinho as head coach.
The pair had attended the same Uefa Pro Licence course at St George’s Park, yet it was decided a new coaching team would be brought in, albeit utilising Academy manager Zesh Rehman.
He subsequently quit in December 2024 to assist Ardley, who replaced Michael Doyle at Woking amid a long-awaited change of ownership.
The pair subsequently steered them away from the threat of relegation to finish 15th in the National League, having lost five of their 27 games, albeit drawing 13 of them.
Reunion with a brief popular Pompey player
The Cards began their pre-season friendly programme with a 2-0 victory at Met Police on Saturday, with two second-half goals from Inih Effiong.
Their 21 players used also included Aiden O’Brien, who was among those introduced at half-time and is likely to also face Pompey on Tuesday night.
O’Brien has scored four times in 10 outings for the Cards since joining in January and remains a popular player with the Fratton faithful following a very effective short-term spell under Cowley.
The energetic attacker netted five times after joining Pompey in January 2021, including scoring with his first touch at Fratton Park against Doncaster. However, he departed in the summer of 2022 after a prospective new deal was pulled.
Still, Bassey and O’Brien are assured of a friendly reaction from those Pompey fans who will be present at the Kingfield Stadium for the first of six summer friendlies involving the Championship club.
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