Vindicated: Portsmouth boss' delight as much-criticised team selection silences prolific Leeds
John Mousinho is convinced his centre-half selection was vindicated after free-scoring Leeds were shut out for just the seventh time this season.
After 35 Championship matches, only West Brom, Burnley (twice), Bristol City, Millwall and Blackburn had previously registered a clean sheet against Daniel Farke’s Championship leaders.
Now you can add Pompey to that short list as Mousinho’s men secured an impressive 1-0 triumph over a team clearly destined for a Premier League return this season and having scored 15 more goals than any other side.
At the heart of it was Marlon Pack and Regan Poole, the central defensive partnership which has been questioned by many, with Ryley Towler continuing to be overlooked.
Nonetheless, with Conor Shaughnessy, Hayden Matthews and Rob Atkinson injured, Mousinho has put his faith in the pair.
And they were pivotal to a victory over Leeds which lifts Pompey 10 points above the relegation zone with 10 matches to spare.
The head coach told The News: ‘I know what good players Regan and Marlon are, we see it week in, week out. We have those decisions to make - and thankfully it paid off against Leeds.
‘It was Regan’s best game. The two centre-halves were excellent, they won everything and positioned themselves really well.
‘The most pleasing thing was the bravery in possession. We weren’t obsessed with trying to keep the ball relentlessly from the back, but what we wanted to do was to get two or three passes off to really entice that press.
‘Leeds are so aggressive in the press, so it was about opening up a bit of space in behind - and that takes a bit of mettle from the two centre-hales,
‘Marlon naturally does it very well and Regan did it really well against Leeds - and, most importantly, we thankfully got a clean sheet.’
Three clean sheets in six appearances together
Before Sunday, Leeds had failed to score just once in their last 18 league matches since November 30 - unsurprisingly against Burnley.
However, they came up against a hard-working Blues side who fought as a team - backed up by outstanding keeper Nicolas Schmid, of course.
It represented Pack and Poole’s second match back together as a new partnership, off the back of last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Luton - and sixth overall.
They had previously lined-up alongside each other for a month from November, taking eight points from four matches, including two clean sheets.
Now they have a third clean sheet in three fixtures, with Plymouth next up, visiting Fratton Park on Wednesday (7.45pm).
Mousinho added: ‘Their first game back together last was at Luton and we were a bit disappointed with the performance last week.
‘But, against Leeds, they were absolutely superb and defended the box really well. That’s the most important thing in the two centre-halves.’