John Mousinho reveals reason behind dropping Will Norris for Portsmouth v Oxford United

John Mousinho has explained he felt it was the right point to change his goalkeeper after dropping Will Norris as Portsmouth drew with Oxford United.

Norris put his place at risk last Wednesday [2 October] as Pompey were obliterated by Stoke City, and Nicolas Schmid came in for his debut on Saturday's [5 October] return to Fratton Park.

The Austrian made an important first-half stop to prevent Oxford going in front, but could do little about Louie Sibley's leveller to Mark O'Mahony's opener as the game finished all square.

Mousinho told The News [7 October]: "It wasn’t an easy decision, Will has played every minute of every league game since he’s been here.

"It wasn’t an easy decision, Will has played every minute of every league game since he’s been here.

"I was very, very pleased with Nicolas' debut and distribution, the fact it was his first game in this country as well, he can take a lot of credit for that."

Will Norris' run of Portsmouth games comes to an end

Since arriving from Burnley in the summer of 2023, Norris had played in every league game for Portsmouth.

The 31-year-old saw that streak of 54 games come to an end at the weekend, with Schmid having arrived in what was an interesting move by the club - particularly as experienced goalkeeper Jordan Archer had already been brought in.

Pompey also paid an undisclosed fee to Austrian side Linz for Schmid's services, implying the 27-year-old was destined to be the club's long-term number one.

Managing three experienced 'keepers with just one spot up for grabs is never going to be easy, but that is the task Mousinho is currently overseeing and those snap decisions have to be made.

Schmid will surely retain his place after the international break, unless Mousinho had purely planned to temporarily remove Norris from the firing line after the Stoke debacle.

With calls to drop more established players becoming louder from the Fratton faithful as the Blues remain in search of their first win, Mousinho has a task on his hands to figure out his sustained best team.

In other Portsmouth news, the club aim for an affordable hospitality offer for the women's South Coast derby next weekend.

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