Back home after 14 years: Ex-Portsmouth Academy man answers Blues SOS after late, late call up for Slovakia
The much-travelled keeper is back at Pompey after 14 years away
Pompey have turned to a former Academy youngster to plug a Toby Steward-sized hole on their Slovakian training camp.
Steward is in the process of sealing a loan switch to Scottish Championship side St Johnstone as he pursues more first-team games to bolster his development.
That has left the Blues a keeper short during their seven-day stay outside Bratislava as they ramp up their pre-season preparation for the Championship start.
With goalkeeping coach Joe Prodomo preferring to work with four keepers in training, Pompey have instead turned to ex-Peterborough, Luton and Swindon man Stuart Moore.
The 30-year-old, who has amassed more than 100 career matches, was last season on Morecambe’s books, featuring 17 times as the League Two club suffered relegation.
Hailing from Sandown, the Isle of Wight, he was formerly at Fratton Park from the age of 14-16, with Adam Webster, Tom King, Dan Butler and Ashley Harris among his team-mates.
However, during Pompey’s difficult financial period, Moore decided to reject a scholarship at 16 and instead joined Reading’s youth set-up.
Now, 14 years later, he is back with the Blues, albeit initially for one week, having answered their SOS on Friday night.
The free agent was out shopping when he received a phone call - and the following morning was on a flight from Manchester to link up with Mousinho’s squad.
Nowadays based in Lytham St Annes, it also brings Moore a little closer to the Isle of Wight, where he grew up, while handing him the opportunity to train with a first-team in pre-season.
Pompey did similar last summer, when Cam Plain attended Pompey’s pre-season training camp in Medulin, Croatia, albeit purely as a stop-gap.
Having been released by Bournemouth, the 22-year-old was invited by his former Academy goalkeeping coach Prodomo to serve as stand-in fourth-choice stopper on the Blues’ seven-day tour.
While Plain deputised, Pompey were looking elsewhere for new goalkeeping talent. Ultimately, that would be Nicolas Schmid from Austrian side BW Linz, seven weeks later.
The keeper remained long enough to feature in the second half of Pompey’s 3-0 friendly win over the Hawks in July 2024.
He subsequently left Fratton Park and linked up with Poole Town and then Wimborne last season, although a dislocated figure ruled him out of his final three games for the latter.
Moore isn’t the only free agent currently training with Pompey, former West Brom defender Nathan Ferguson is also out in Slovakia.
The duo have helped boost training numbers during a stay which is scheduled to end on Friday when Mousinho’s men return to England.
Moore has certainly been much travelled, having also featured for Peterborough, Luton, Swindon, MK Dons, Blackpool, Doncaster, Basingstoke and Wealdstone.
He was a regular for Morecambe approaching the first half of last season, although injury subsequently kept him out of contention and they instead signed former Pompey man Ryan Schofield in January.