What we learnt about Portsmouth's showdown with Oxford United as EFL play-offs got underway

The meetings between Colchester and Exeter along with Cheltenham’s match with Northampton took a very different shape from how the high-stakes end-of-season games usually appear, thanks to the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

And that afforded both fans along with the Pompey players and staff an insight which proved useful ahead of next month’s first-leg showdown at Fratton Park.

Here’s what we learned as the Football League returned for the first time in over three months.

New rules

One of the key areas Pompey would’ve been watching was the implementation of the new rules outlined by the EFL ahead of the play-offs.

The major change is being able to make five subs from three, with another switch allowed in extra-time if applicable.

The caveat to that is the substitutions must be made amid three ‘opportunities’, ostensibly to avoid managers slowing down the game with a string of subs when in a winning position.

Interestingly, none of the four managers opted to use their full allocation last night.

Colchester and Exeter both made four changes across three opportunities with Northampton and Chelteham making three across two.

U’s boss John McGreal utilised his third and final sub opportunity with his side in front, but in the other game Robins manager Michael Duff saw the game out with two subs and one opportunity in hand - resisting the temptation to break up play despite being two goals up.

Duff clearly had faith in his players’ fitness despite the lay-off. If Kenny Jackett is in the same boat, the suspicion is he could go down a similar route after often keeping subs to a minimum in the past.

Handling the pressure

The experts were predicting plenty of free-flowing football with the English game’s return.

The thinking behind that was without crowds present they would relax with the shackles off.

There may not be fans about but the stakes are still massive in the play-offs, and the way players handled that weight differed enormously between the two games.

Exeter’s meeting with Colchester proved a tense and nervy affair even in the very different environment it was played in.

Cheltenham really shone, however, in what proved an entertaining end-to-end encounter with Northampton.

It seems the play-offs present the same nerves to overcome even in their remodelled shape this season.

When crowd noise goes wrong

The debate has raged about the impact of piping in crowd noise helping the viewing experience since football’s return.

Although the idea was initially resisted by many fans, there’s little doubt in top-level games adds something to games over the echoes of a cavernous, empty stadium.

In the Colchester v Exeter game the decision was made to offer no crowd noise in general play, but add crowd celebration to the goal.

The end result was a load of white noise which didn’t come across well at all on TV - and almost certainly fell flat at the venue, too.

It’s something Pompey have noted as they look at ways to create an atmosphere on July 3.

Taking the knee

There was no protocol laid down by the EFL to do so, but players in both games followed the path set by Premier League football on Wednesday in taking a knee at kick-off to show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement, in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

The result was a powerful symbol and the decision by players to do so sets a precedent for the same happening at Fratton Park next month.

There has been EFL guidance, however, over Pompey players taking part in pre-match videos demanding more from each other in terms of inclusion and rejecting discrimination.

Likewise, expect a minute’s applause to take place before kick-off in recognition of those who’ve lost their lives through the Covid-19 pandemic and to say thank you to NHS key workers.

Fatigue factor

The expectation was, after a lay-off of over three months players’ sharpness and match fitness would be significantly impacted.

The evidence was the fitness levels of the squads varied across the two games and four squads of players.

Exeter boss Matt Taylor referenced the intensity of his players dropping late on in his post-match interview.

Meanwhile, Cheltenham looked anything but weary as both them and Northampton kept an impressive pace for the full 90 minutes. - that despite the Robins having just 12 sessions since returning.

Perhaps, however, it’s not this match which will be telling when it comes to fatigue but the second legs - especially if they go to extra-time after a quick turnaround.