Portsmouth boss makes Abu Kamara claim as on-loan Norwich man's quality makes the difference in big win at Carlisle

John Mousinho admitted Abu Kamara has been ‘incredibly unlucky’ to find himself out of Pompey’s starting XI following his key contribution to today’s win at Carlisle.

But the Blues head coach stressed the on-loan Norwich winger had not been dropped as he insisted the 20-year-old needed a rest following an arduous work schedule.

Prior to last week’s win against Northampton, the highly-rated forward had started Pompey’s past six league games and was a starter on the team sheet in 23 of the Blues’ past 25 League One matches. Since arriving in the summer from Carrow Road on a season-long loan, the player has featured 38 times for the Fratton Park outfit, scoring seven goals and recording four assists.

That fourth assist arrived in the 62nd minute of today’s victory at Brunton Park, with Kamara making his presence felt within five minutes of replacing Myles Peart-Harris. He skipped past two challenges inside the Pompey half before driving forward and supplying an inch-perfect pass for Paddy Lane to calmly slot home.

It was the extra bit of quality the visitors had been seeking as they looked to break the deadlock against the Cumbrians. And at a time that sees eight senior Blues players remaining at home through injury, Mousinho admitted he’s fortunate to be able to bring on someone of Kamara’s quality at important times in games.

Speaking about his contribution to today’s win in difficult circumstances, Mousinho said: ‘I’m pretty pleased with what we’ve got that beyond the match-day 18 and, of course, to bring someone like Abs on was great for us. He showed the quality that he’s demonstrated all season when he’s been at his best, he set the goal up and I thought he was pretty lively after that as well.

‘Abs is incredibly unlucky to find himself out of the side. We thought he looked a bit tired after the game against Oxford so we took him out of the side to give him a bit of a rest. To be honest, no-one has been dropped, which sounds a bit of a cliche. But we’ve got the option to rotate and the option to rest.’

Kamara’s performances for Pompey and his obvious potential has led to speculation about his future, with the likes of Brentford, Leicester, Stoke and Freiburg all credited with an interest in January.

He’ll remain with the Blues until the end of the season, though, and hopefully depart with a league winner’s medal as a keepsake from his time on the south coast. After that, Mousinho is convinced a big future in the game lies in wait for the Norwich ace.

When asked about his pass to Lane for Pompey’s winner, Mousinho added: ‘It was a great ball, he showed a lot of composure. He’s got the potential to do a fair bit with his game because he’s a real threat with his pace, he’s got an excellent first touch, he’s also got that quality you’d probably expect from a central midfielder like Marlon – and when he puts it all together we know Abs is a real threat and a player who is certainly going to go beyond this league.’