The stark message as Portsmouth left counting injury cost after QPR carnage
Matt Ritchie insisted Pompey players have to go through the pain barrier to keep their club in their Championship.
The QPR goal hero believes the injuries which arrived as the Blues took another big leap towards second-tier survival is simply part of the process, as John Mousinho fitness concerns stacked up.
Ritchie helped his side to a huge 2-1 win over the Londoners at Fratton Park, to move nine points clear of the relegation places with nine games remaining.
It was victory at a cost, however, with Mousinho’s men suffering FOUR injuries during the game, in addition to Mark O’Mahony missing the clash with a groin concern.
Rob Atkinson came off in the first half with a groin issue with Zak Swanson withdrawn with a hamstring concern, while Isaac Hayden was taken off for Marlon Pack when struggling. Hayden Matthews left Fratton Park in a protective boot and on crutches, after taking a heavy blow and soldering on to the final whistle.
With Conor Shaughnessy recently sidelined and Callum Lang out for the season with hamstring injuries, it’s another fitness tale of woe for Pompey.
‘It’s no secret that’s what you have to do to achieve three points. It’s what you have to do.
‘I think the lads performed really well, but in the first half we were a bit looser than what we have been in recent games.
‘We don’t know yet (how big a win it was), it’s part of the process of what we’re trying achieve - the main objective of sustaining Championship status. It was a step in the right direction.
‘In the second half we got on the front foot, though, and scored two goals. So it’s another step in the right direction, but we just need to keep going.’
‘You’ve got to be there!’
Ritchie grabbed his fourth goal of the season in what turned out be the game’s decisive goal, as he turned in a 51st-minute Josh Murphy cross from close range. The 35-year-old was denied a second when tapping in after Colby Bishop challenged keeper Pau Nardi, but the striker was penalised for a foul - a decision disputed by the winger.
Ritchie said: ‘The goal was a tap-in, but you’ve got to be there to score them!
‘Throughout my career I’ve not scored too many of those. I’ve not scored enough tap-ins, so that pleases me personally to be in the right area at the right time. With experience, it’s an understanding of what my opposite winger is doing.
‘I thought the second one was a really soft decision against Colby, very strange, but maybe two tap-ins in one game was asking too much!’