What disappointed Portsmouth boss despite side turning up pressure on Bolton Wanderers, Derby County, Wycombe & Co in play-off race

John Mousinho was frustrated Pompey didn’t put Forest Green firmly to bed after ekeing out victory at Fratton Park.
Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho.Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho.
Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho.

Owen Dale’s goal was the difference between the two sides as the Blues closed the gap on the play-offs to three points.

The goal came six minutes after the restart, but Mousinho’s side didn’t get a killer second goal – and that was a cause of consternation for the head coach.

He said: ‘It does (feel like job done).

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‘The last 40 minutes were quite nervy without conceding too many opportunities.

‘We didn’t put our foot on the accelerator and get the second and third goal.

‘In those situations it only takes a mistake or a refereeing decision to go against you - and it would be costly.’

Forest Green proved a tough nut to crack as they got bodies behind the ball and made life difficult for the home side.

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Pompey kept trying to create openings and moved the ball around in the first half, without delivering much in the way of clearcut opportunities.

Mousinho was content with how his side approached the challenge up to the goal, however.

He added: ‘I was really pleased with the performance up to the goal.

‘We took on everything we said before the game and up to half-time.

‘We were pleased with the display up to then.

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‘After that, it was job done. These are tough games and tough games to get the result in.

‘These sides will come to try to frustrate, like Forest Green did.

‘Then as the second half went on we saw that they are a good side with a lot of footballing ability.

‘From what I saw of them today, I don’t think they should be sitting bottom of the league.

‘They are a lot better than that, so for me the whole outcome of the day was positive.’

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