Shaun Williams' blunt message about worrying Pompey trait after dismal defeat to Cambridge United

On Saturday, Danny Cowley’s men finally discovered their scoring touch after 434 minutes without a goal.

Yet Ronan Curtis’ 76th-minute strike was nothing more than a consolation in a hugely disappointing 2-1 Fratton Park defeat.

Despite making five changes and dominating possession, the Blues yet again struggled in the final third.

As a consequence, that’s now three consecutive League One defeats, leaving them 15th in the table.

Midfielder Williams told The News: ‘The final ball wasn’t there on Saturday, we kept plugging away but it just wasn’t to be.

‘That’s what gets you goals and we didn’t have that, so we’ll obviously have to look at that over the next few days and try to eradicate some errors.

‘We had a lot of the ball, Cambridge were happy to sit off and leave us with the ball. Obviously that was the game plan and it worked for them, which was disappointing.

‘There’s a lot of talent in the team and hopefully they can gel and bring the goals to help the team.

‘It’s still early days in the season, we’ve got 15 new players so obviously it’s going to take time to tell.

‘Probably if we had won all the games so far, people would get ahead of themselves. It’s a long season, we’ll just look to make it right for the next game.’

Saturday’s maiden Fratton Park defeat of the season was met with boos at half-time and full-time.

Unquestionably the players also recognised the below-par manner of the display and were in sombre moods as they left the dressing room following the match.

That was shared by their fuming head coach, who, as ever, struggled to mask his frustration during post-match interviews with the media.

But Williams was not willing to go into details over what Cowley had said to his players following defeat to the League One newcomers.

He added: ‘The performance wasn’t good enough, obviously.

‘What the manager says stays in the dressing room.

‘I don’t think it’s anyone’s business what is said behind closed doors.’

Meanwhile, Pompey fans are reminded that the rescheduled Plymouth game (7.45pm) is not included in full season tickets and will not be loaded onto any cards.

Individual tickets must be bought for this fixture, either online or from the Anson Road ticket office, with supporters receiving an eticket which can be printed at home or scanned at the turnstiles.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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