Portsmouth pain as hopes of glory dashed at the final hurdle

Pompey’s Academy suffered disappointment in the final of the Youth Alliance Cup.

But the young Blues earned the praise of coach Sam Hudson, as they went down to a 3-1 loss to Preston North End at Fratton Park.

A nip-and-tuck affair saw impressive former Crystal Palace youngster Harry Clout level, after Theo Carroll put the visitors in front.

But efforts from Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile and Troy Tarry before the break meants the Lilywhites picked up the trophy, as the game was watched by first-team boss John Mousinho and sporting director Rich Hughes.

Pompey’s lead professional development phase coach Hudson admitted the loss was a blow, but could take solace from the manner in which the youngsters took the game to Preston after the break.

He told Pompey’s official site: ‘It’s obviously disappointing to lose a cup final – particularly one that was being held at Fratton Park.

‘First of all I’d like to thank all of the fans who came out to support us because their backing definitely helped.

‘I looked at the numbers and they were very similar – the same number of shots and final third entries, while we edged the penalty box entries.

‘But the difference was that they were super clinical and much better in those match-winning moments that really count.

‘I felt like we got at Preston well when we were able to get around them through Harry and Koby out wide.

‘The biggest thing I can take from it is the second-half reaction because we looked great for around 30 minutes, without really creating too much.

‘But we applied pressure and forced our opponents to defend – the boys did everything that we asked of them.

‘If we could have got a goal back then I believe it would have totally changed the game, but it wasn’t to be.’