View: 56% player could force Mousinho into Portsmouth rethink after what he did v Preston
Matt Ritchie is one of the most experienced players in the Portsmouth squad, but the veteran midfielder’s display against Preston will leave John Mousinho with many questions.
Pompey took on Preston in the Championship on 9 November at home and won 3-1, with goals from Josh Murphy, Connor Ogilvie and Colby Bishop, who made a fairytale comeback to the team.
But Ritchie, who returned to his boyhood club from Newcastle United this summer, failed to make much of an impact against the Lilywhites.
After not featuring heavily in Mousinho’s plans at the start of the campaign, the 35-year-old has started in the last three fixtures.
But Ritchie hasn’t really made much of a difference at the club, with the team lingering in the relegation zone with 12 points from 15 games.
Matt Ritchie has hurt his chances at Portsmouth
Against Preston, Ritchie was arguably the worst player on the pitch, with 56 per cent passing accuracy, 50 per cent shot accuracy and a combined xG and xA of 0.16, as per FotMob.
The midfielder also completed zero dribbles, didn’t put in a single successful cross, and defensively, the 35-year-old lost five of his nine duels.
While Christian Saydee didn’t pull up any trees either against Preston, Mousinho will be delighted to have Bishop back.
With the Blues looking to maintain their status in the Championship this season after promotion from League One, Ritchie’s arrival was deemed excellent, but it looks like the manager needs to drop the veteran midfielder to the bench against Blackburn Rovers after the international break.
In other Portsmouth news, Bishop opens up on his road to recovery after he needed heart surgery.
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