Gaffer For A Day: Portsmouth were loud and raucous - Tonda Eckert is saying things to keep his Southampton job
Gaffer For A Day, Rich Mayor, aged 40 from Southsea, analyses Pompey’s 1-1 draw with Southampton...
First of all, you’ve been the Gaffer once before, haven’t you?
Yes, I did John Mousinho’s first match as Pompey head coach in January 2023. He’s turned out to be excellent and has obviously done a lot with not a lot.
We took a fair bit of risk on him and, at the time, I said I’d get behind whoever was coming in. I have never written someone off before they’ve had a go. It will be a very sad day when he leaves - I will try to savour every day we’ve got left with him.
We obviously took a chance on Mousinho to begin with and he has more than repaid that with what he has given back in return.
What did you make of the match?
I was so stressed all week, I didn’t sleep very well the previous night and woke up really early on the day of the game. There was loads of adrenaline and loads of anxiousness.
But I’m pleased with the effort every player put in, we couldn't have asked more from them, particularly with the injuries we continue to get and a patchwork defence. Everyone stood up to a man.
It was scrappy but we played better than Southampton, although they had the better chances. There were a superb couple of saves from Nicolas Schmid in the first half from Adam Armstrong, particularly that one-on-one, a real heart-in-the-mouth moment.
We had a lack of a cutting edge in the final third, which has been the story for a lot of games this season, but, once we equalised, we were the only side likely to win it. Still, it was a fair result.
Who stood out for you?
Ebou Adams is my man of the match, a midfielder we have been crying out for. Even though he’s only had three games, we can see the difference he makes.
We tend to get a bit bypassed in midfield, a lot of teams breeze through, so Adams has added a lot of much-needed bite and obviously he got the ball over the Southampton line for the equaliser.
He reads the game very well, tackles, puts in a lot of good interceptions. I wouldn’t say he’s an amazing ball player, but it’s that desire.
He seems like a proper Pompey player, one who will go down in the history books as someone who really got the club. He nicely matches what we are.
What did you make of Tonda Eckert’s comments about only hearing Southampton fans at the game?
I saw that and had a chuckle. It’s a bit of self-preservation, he’s trying to appeal to their fans after a bit of pressure on him. Definitely trying to keep them onside.
One of the comments from Southampton's own fans was: ‘I mean I dislike Pompey as much as the next person but this is completely wrong’.
He has his own reasons for doing it, but it’s not accurate in the slightest. It was loud and raucous from us throughout, one of the best atmospheres of the season. Although not one for people offended by bad language!
If I am being objective, which it almost pains me to do, I could hear Southampton fans every now and again, it’s not like they sat there in silence. It then ramped up after their goal and tapered off after ours. That is probably a fair assessment - not Eckert’s!
Nicolas Schmid - 8
Terry Devlin - 8
Zak Swanson - 8
Ibane Bowat - 7
Connor Ogilvie - 8
Ebou Adams - 9
Andre Dozzell - 6
Adrian Segecic - 7
Conor Chaplin - 6
Millenic Alli - 8
Colby Bishop - 7