'Portsmouth's best 45 minutes by a long, long way': John Mousinho applauds Blues' battling point at Hull

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
John Mousinho hailed Pompey’s best 45 minutes of the season after fighting back to claim a MKM Stadium point.

The Blues were facing a third successive defeat as they entered half-time trailing 1-0 to Hull City, having barely been able to seize possession of the ball.

However, Josh Murphy’s leveller 19 seconds after the restart launched an impressive second-half display which prompted the home fans to boo off their team at the final whistle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Indeed, only the crossbar denied Callum Lang grabbing a stoppage-time triumph as the Blues were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw.

John Mousinho praised Pompey's second-half display after a 1-1 draw at Hull. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImagesJohn Mousinho praised Pompey's second-half display after a 1-1 draw at Hull. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
John Mousinho praised Pompey's second-half display after a 1-1 draw at Hull. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages | Jason Brown/ProSportsImages

Regardless, Mousinho was delighted with his team’s showing and, in particular, their level of display over the second 45 minutes.

He told The News: ‘I thought we were okay in the first-half. I know there was a real contrast in terms of what we produced in the second half, but the key thing for us was not doing what we’ve done against the likes of Cardiff and Stoke - and managing to stay in the game.

‘We were probably slightly passive and needed to press slightly higher in the first half. We were really disappointed with the goal and Nico made a brilliant save, but after that there wasn't much for him to do.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘That was a big message at half-time, don’t panic, we’re in the game, we’ll get a goal. Although the lads got the goal a lot quicker than anybody imagined.

‘It was one-way traffic after that, I thought it was a brilliant performance, our best 45 minutes by a long way so far this season.

‘We had to be a bit more aggressive, a bit more front footed, and the most pleasing thing was - even after scoring the goal - we still stayed on the front foot and didn’t drop off. What it took was a bit more bravery and athleticism.

‘We showed that really, really well in the second half. We nicked the ball back so many times and the only disappointment was we didn’t score more goals off the back of it.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘With our equaliser so early in the second half, I was actually worried at the time that it was going to negatively impact us. I didn’t know whether that would impact us, but the lads kept going, created chances and opportunities, and were really unlucky not to win the game.’

For Hull, it represented five matches without victory, while undoubtedly they expected more against the Championship’s bottom club.

And the boos towards Tim Walter’s side at the final whistle rubber-stamped the effectiveness of Pompey’s display.

Mousinho added: ‘The booing reflects on our performance. I know there is a big expectation when a side bottom of the league comes to a side like Hull, especially when you go a goal up early.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘Probably a lot of people in the stadium thought that would be it. We didn’t think that, we didn’t believe it.

‘We put in a really, really good performance to show that, when we do things right, we are definitely at the level.’

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1877
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice