Exclusive:Norwich 0 Portsmouth 1: Neil Allen's verdict - Sunshine after the storms in remarkable seven-day turnaround
A 1-0 victory at Carrow Road marked a second win in 72 hours for the Blues, lifting them into 13th place
Curiously during a fleeting first-half moment, the Carrow Road pitch was impacted by sudden rainfall in one half, while the sun continued to smile in the other.
Hardly four seasons in one day, yet still an instance of nature perfectly embodying an emotional past week for the Pompey faithful.
There had been the raging storms post-Southampton, with growing clamour for John Mousinho’s dismissal among some of the supporter base, while the head coach himself cut an unusually dispirited figure at Tuesday’s press conference.
Then followed the glorious blue skies of successive victories over Sheffield United and, on Saturday, Norwich to catapult the Blues into 13th spot in the Championship.
A remarkable seven days spent lurching from one extreme to the other, thereby exposing the temperamental disposition of football.
Madiodio Dia and Iyad Mohamad transforming public opinion
Indeed, amid last Sunday’s angry inquest into St Mary’s matters, few could have anticipated Madiodio Dia and Iyad Mohamed subsequently transforming public opinion by the end of the forthcoming week.
It’s a forecast nobody would have predicted - and suddenly the outlook is distinctly brighter for a Fratton faithful who had, understandably, been questioning their club’s direction.
Mousinho and his players desperately needed an instant response to a 1-0 south-coast derby defeat rendered even more painful considering the context of being unable to break down 10-men.
As ever since their Championship return, whenever challenged to bounce back from devastating blows, most recently the QPR 6-1 debacle in March, the Blues have reacted impressively.
Admittedly, Sheffield United was the finest of margins, namely an 89th-minute winner from substitute Ebou Adams, having criminally let slip a two-goal lead against 10-men in a nine-minute period.
Still, that signalled a timely victory, while also marked the full debut of Mohamed, the Blues’ late transfer window signing from Casa Pia, who had previously totalled 22 minutes for his new club.
Retaining the same starting XI for the trip to Norwich, Mousinho would then oversee consecutive wins, this time thanks to Marko Milovanovic’s 50th-minute penalty.
Spectacular supporter backing for Dia
The travelling 1,360 supporters’ heartening backing for Dia, in addition to a man-of-the-match display from the blossoming Mohamed also demonstrated it wasn’t merely Pompey’s progress which had turned around within seven remarkable days.
From the very first minute, Dia received the love from the Fratton faithful, who serenaded him with a large repertoire of songs, particularly in the first half, to tentatively suggest the centre-half could be the biggest cult figure since Sean Raggett.
It was a heartening sight, even chanting ‘We want our Dia back’ as the Senegal defender received treatment on 32 minutes, following a nasty blow to the head which also forced him to change his shirt.
As a consequence, pumped up by new-found belief, the 22-year-old proceeded to produce his finest Pompey display yet as he and partner-in-crime Regan Poole brilliantly kept the Canaries at bay during a gutsy final 20 minutes.
As for Mohamed, while his Blades outing was encouraging enough, the Carrow Road sequel saw him ramp up his performance considerably. Indeed, during his 60 minutes on the pitch, he was the best player for either side.
It was his excellent use of the ball, including a strong left foot capable of delivering over distance, mobility, physicality, and bursts of pace which suddenly made everyone sit up and take notice.
Once he was withdrawn on the hour mark, with Mousinho sensing tiredness from a second start in 72 hours, Adams was introduced, yet the Blues never rediscovered their grip on the game as Norwich stepped up their performance.
Heroic late defending
By that stage, Pompey had the lead. Pressing and harrying inside Norwich’s box saw Abu Kamara eventually tripped by Jacob Wright, with Milovanovic, who had a quiet match otherwise, confidently finishing from the spot.
Now Mousinho’s men were challenged with retaining it and suddenly they found themselves under sustained pressure for the first time in the match.
Pelle Mattsson struck the inside of the far post, but otherwise the visitors did an excellent job of heroically defending their penalty area, particularly the outstanding Dia and Poole.
Disgruntled home fans soon started calling for the dismissal of sporting director Ben Knapper and head coach Philippe Clement, while, after the final whistle, a rendition of ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ was fired in the direction of their players.
Barely seven days earlier, such sentiments were shared by the Fratton faithful towards their own hierarchy. How quickly fate can change.