View: John Mousinho must recall 100% Portsmouth ace v Oxford United
John Mousinho would be wise to recall Jacob Farrell when Portsmouth host Oxford United at Fratton Park on Saturday (5 October).
Pompey suffered their most miserable defeat of the campaign, being thrashed 6-1 by Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Wednesday (2 October), with very few players able to leave the pitch with their heads held high.
Losing isn’t unfamiliar for Mousinho’s side. Since their return to the EFL Championship at the beginning of the season, Pompey have lost four of their eight matches, drawing the other four.
However, it is the nature of the defeat which would have been of particular concern to supporters. Up until the demolition at Stoke City, Portsmouth’s worst defeat this season had been a 3-0 loss to West Brom at Fratton Park (15 September).
In addition, statistically, Stoke are the worst team Portsmouth have played this season. Of the club’s eight league matches this year, six of those have come against the Championship’s current top seven.
Meanwhile, the Potters sat 20th in the division heading into their clash with Portsmouth. Therefore, to be thrashed by them was incredibly worrying.
As a result, Mousinho no doubt needs to make changes for the must-win clash with Oxford United.
And one of those changes should be Farrell replacing Connor Ogilvie at Fratton Park.
John Mousinho to start Jacob Farrell for Portsmouth v Oxford United
Ogilvie was far from the worst player on the pitch for Portsmouth on Wednesday.
The left-back actually did well in some areas of his game, winning 100 per cent of his aerial duels while making one interception, one clearance and blocking one shot.
However, there were aspects of his game which lacked a lot of quality. For example, of the three long balls he played, none of those were accurate, and he also completed just 64 per cent of his passes.
He lost his one ground duel and was dribbled past once, and perhaps most concerningly, he gave possession away 15 times.
However, regardless of your individual stats, if you’re part of a back-four which concedes six times, questions are going to be asked. Changes clearly need to be made, and unfortunately for Ogilvie, of Portsmouth’s defenders, he has the best direct replacement waiting in the wings.
That man is Farrell, who impressed on his debut for the club in the 0-0 draw with Sheffield United at Fratton Park (28 September).
That afternoon the Australian won 100 per cent of his aerial duels and two of his three ground duels. In addition, he made five clearances, four interceptions and one tackle against the Blades.
Therefore, if Mousinho is in search of some changes – which he most certainly should be – then the Portsmouth boss should look no further than Farrell.
In other Portsmouth news, Josh Murphy has shared a “frustrating” admission ahead of his reunion with Oxford United.
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