Tom Naylor throws down Portsmouth set-piece demand after Brighton waste

The Blues failed to make enough of a host of promising corners and free-kicks as they were eventually thumped 4-0 at the Amex Stadium in the Carabao Cup.

Pompey had eight first-half corners against their Premier League opponents and four more after the restart.

But too often deliveries from Ronan Curtis and Cameron Pring failed to beat the first man or lacked accuracy.

That was a frustration for Naylor as he wore the captain’s armband on his 100th appearance.

The 29-year-old took solace from the fact his team managed to create the opportunities, but acknowledged they simply have to do better moving forward.

Naylor said: ‘We said at half-time we must be doing something right and breaking lines because we were getting corners left, right and centre.

‘But there were some poor balls into the box and we weren’t able to get our head on the right ball.

‘They had a big, strong side so it was hard to get our heads on the ball.

‘But we had eight corners in the first half and a few in the second as well.

‘I think we can take the positives out of that and the play we had down the wings.

‘That said, we have to at least get our head on one of those corners and try to make it 1-1 in the first half.’

Naylor wasn’t too bothered to see his team fall out of the Carabao Cup at the second-round stage, in a season where the focus is firmly on getting out of League One at the fourth attempt.

He added: ‘The league is most important, like it is every year. The cup games are just a bonus.

‘We’re not going to win one of the big cups really.

‘Our sights are set on promotion - and that’s where our focus has to be this season.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The News has launched a new subscription offer which gives you unlimited access to all of our Pompey coverage.

You can subscribe here to get the latest updates from Fratton Park, transfer news and expert analysis from our team of Pompey writers.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism on your behalf for our city.