Portsmouth handed first Ashton Gate trip in more than nine years after Bristol City FA Cup draw
Pompey will visit Ashton Gate for the first time in more than nine years following the FA Cup’s third-round draw.
Kenny Jackett’s side are to make the trip to high-flying Championship club Bristol City during the weekend of January 8-11.
It is the third consecutive year the Blues have reached the third-round stage, having begun their FA Cup campaign at the start of November at Ipswich.
And this year’s draw pairs them with the Robins, who they last faced in competitive action at Ashton Gate in August 2011.
On that occasion, Steve Cotterill’s men finished with a goalless draw in front of 12,496, with the ground having changed substantially in the subsequent years.
Dean Holden’s side are enjoying a fine season in the Championship and are currently sixth, three points off second-placed Bournemouth and the automatic promotion spots.
Pompey have, of course, played at the revamped Ashton Gate in a pre-season friendly, when the teams met in July 2016.
The outcome was a goalless draw, with Paul Cook’s team handing a first appearance to keeper David Forde, who had been secured on a season-long loan from Millwall.
Yet this FA Cup fixture represents the first competitive encounter in Bristol in approaching nine-and-a-half years.
The last time the sides met overall was in March 2012 at Fratton Park, when once again they shared a goalless draw.
However, bottom-of-the-table Pompey would be relegated from the Championship five weeks later as they battled against the financial turmoil which had seen them plunged into administration.
The latest fixture between the clubs means Cam Pring is unlikely to be involved.
The left-back is on loan from Ashton Gate and would require permission to face his parent club in the FA Cup’s third round.
It’s unfortunate for Pring, who assisted in two of Pompey’s goals in Saturday’s 6-1 hammering of non-league King’s Lynn.
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