Robbie Earnshaw: Portsmouth goalkeeper Will Norris like Peter Schmeichel v Barnsley
Robbie Earnshaw has compared Portsmouth goalkeeper Will Norris to Peter Schmeichel after a save he made in the promotion-sealing win against Barnsley on Tuesday night.
Portsmouth secured the League One title with a 3-2 victory at Fratton Park, with Bolton Wanderers’ 2-2 draw against Shrewsbury ensuring before full-time on the south coast that John Mousinho’s men won promotion.
Norris’ intervention proved crucial as he denied Barnsley forward John McAtee in the first half to keep the scores level.
Speaking on Sky Sports [08:16pm, 16 April], former Wales and Cardiff striker Earnshaw said: “To be honest, Barnsley have come back into it.
“It’s still end-to-end because Portsmouth have had a couple of chances, but the best chance was one minute ago. [It was] a long ball from Barnsley and it’s gone straight through to McAtee, and he’s gone through and Will Norris has come out and spread himself like Schmeichel – if you’re under 25, Google him, if you’re over 25, you know what I mean – but he’s spread himself completely and it’s a great save because all [McAtee] had to do was just finish it, but McAtee’s missed the one-v-one and it’s still 1-1.”
Will Norris plays his part as Portsmouth win League One
Norris, who joined on a free transfer from Burnley this summer, has been Portsmouth’s most-used player in League One this season, playing every minute of every game in the competition so far.
The ever-present 30-year-old has been a crucial component of the club’s superb season in which they have suffered just four defeats from 44 league games to this point.
And his reliable shot-stopping qualities were on full display against Barnsley, making three saves to ensure his side claimed both victory and the title.
Portsmouth’s xGOT (expected goals on target, which measures how likely a goalkeeper is to save a shot based on the quality of the strike rather than how likely an attacker is to score when taking a shot from his position) faced total of 2.14 also suggests that no blame lies at his door for the two goals conceded [FotMob].
Earning a comparison to one of the game’s greatest-ever goalkeepers and winning the league title in the same day is certainly not a bad haul for Norris.
In other Portsmouth news, Marlon Pack has seen off the competition to claim a League One accolade.
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