Sam Hudson shares what he found ‘poor’ about Portsmouth Academy in Exeter City win
Sam Hudson has described Portsmouth Under-18s’ 2-1 win over Exeter City as a “game of two halves”, as the Blues went six unbeaten in the league.
Pompey are now up to fourth in the Youth Alliance League southern section, just four points adrift of league leaders AFC Wimbledon, though Hudson was frustrated by a “poor” use of the ball in the second half.
The Blues led 2-0 at the break on Saturday [16 November] through Tayo Singerr and Chinedu Agu before Exeter regrouped in the second half to pull one back, before ending the game beaten and with 10 men.
After avenging the Youth Alliance Cup defeat by the Grecians earlier in the month, Hudson told the official Portsmouth FC website [16 November]: “It was definitely a game of two halves and we need to reflect on how we can keep our levels high throughout the 90 minutes.
“We’d discussed with the first team staff about the changes to their press and tried to mirror that, with the lads taking to it really quickly. It allowed us to dominate Exeter in almost every way and we could have been four or five goals ahead after the opening half-hour.
“Exeter were much stronger in the second half, without creating too much, and they were helped by our inability to maintain the press, while we were also poor on the ball. We didn’t have a single shot on target after the break, which summed up how much we dropped off.”
Portsmouth U18s have developed massively since summer
It’s always refreshing to hear Hudson’s assessment of the Portsmouth starlets after their U18 contests, given their competitive schedule sees them fight on multiple fronts.
After such a slow start to the campaign, the development of the team and certain individuals has been excellent to witness, with the Blues now in the top four of a 19-team league.
Admittedly, Pompey are probably the biggest club throughout that level, but credit has to go to the young scholars and coaching staff who are navigating that building pressure.
The club welcomed nine new first-year scholars who have been a big part of what the U18s are achieving so far this term, and Hudson’s honest analyses following games signal a clarity in where they must improve.
Pompey return to U18 PDL Cup group stage action against Cardiff City at Copnor Road next weekend [23 November], before rounding off the month with a league visit to Swindon Town [30 November].
In other Portsmouth news, a prediction is made in the local press about Elias Sorensen in January.
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