Sorry Lee Brown, there's a full-back even more prolific this season - and the ex-Portsmouth man is leading scorer for top-flight title contenders

Yet Lee Brown isn’t the only full-back with Fratton Park connections on an improbable goal trail – there’s another in Norway.

Kristiansund are presently third in the Eliteserien, challenging Bodo/Glimt and Molde for the title.

And the five-goal joint-leading scorer in the league is right-back Snorre Strand Nilsen.

The Norwegian defender’s roots are deeply entwined with Pompey, having come through the Academy with the likes of Conor Chaplin, Jack Whatmough, Ben Close and Alex Bass.

Although he failed to appear in the first-team, there were five pre-season appearances for the Blues in the summer of 2015, while he embarked on a 2015-16 season-long loan at Bognor.

However, Nilsen returned to his country to rebuild his football career in the summer of 2016 after being released by Pompey.

This represents his first campaign at Kristiansund – and his maiden at top-flight level.

Signed on a pre-contract agreement from Raufoss IL, he has totalled five goals in 20 outings so far this term, despite playing at right-back.

On Sunday night, he was the match winner in their 1-0 success over Rosenborg, to leave them in third spot, six points off the top.

Last month, he netted an 89th-minute winner to defeat Haugesund 3-2, the club managed by Pompey fan Jostein Grindhaug.

Nilsen has now scored in four of his last eight appearances – and five in total – with all arriving in league competition.

In the case of Brown, it is five in his last 12 matches, which have all been League One encounters.

Remarkably, Pompey’s skipper registered just once in his opening 105 games for the club, his sole goal arriving against Peterborough in December 2019.

Now, following the surprise scoring burst, he has six from 117 appearances since joining the Blues under Kenny Jackett in June 2018.

John Marquis and Marcus Harness have also netted three times this season, thereby sharing the leading score mantle with Brown at present.

However, the left-back’s current goal-scoring record of five in 12 games is superior to both.

Marquis has five goals in his last 15 appearances, while Harness has five from his 22 most recent outings.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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