View: Portsmouth youngsters show what they’re made of in ‘unheard of’ development v Oxford
Portsmouth coach Sam Hudson was blown away as the academy side brushed aside Oxford United 3-0 on Saturday (6 April).
Three goals in the opening seven minutes ensured the Merit League One points were in the bag before Oxford had even had a chance to settle.
Koby Mottoh put Pompey in front and then helped set up the second for Maxwell Hurst, who himself added the visitors’ third soon after.
“It was an incredibly fast start and we’d asked the players for a reaction to the heavy defeat to Swindon the previous week,” Hudson told the club’s official website [7 April].
“They answered that call emphatically – to go 3-0 up after seven minutes is unheard of and it could have been more because we also missed a good chance during that period.”
“We pressed really well with intensity and aggression, while tactically the lads were absolutely spot on.
“They got their roles just right and we were getting defenders high up the pitch to pin Oxford right back.”
The performance from Portsmouth’s youngsters was in complete contrast to their most recent outing, when going down 6-1 at home to Swindon Town.
Pompey will now look to register back-to-back wins for only the second time since January when they take on Preston North End in the Youth Alliance Cup final on Wednesday (10 April).
Should they replicate what we saw in the opening 10 minutes against Oxford, there will only be one winner in that showdown.
In other Portsmouth news, John Mousinho has reacted to an announcement made on Marlon Pack.
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