View: Mousinho surely delighted as 100% Poole back to his best in Portsmouth win v Bristol City
Regan Poole looked back to his best as Portsmouth cruised to a 3-0 victory against Bristol City in the Championship on Saturday.
Supporters at Fratton Park will be pinching themselves after what has happened recently, especially with an advantage mooted for the club after recent developments.
After such a difficult start to the season, Pompey are unbeaten in their last three Championship matches, winning twice in that time, despite some players continuing to struggle.
Their victory over Bristol City at Fratton Park on 7 December was perhaps their most impressive performance of the season to date, as John Mousinho’s side kept only a third clean sheet since returning to the Championship and made it eight goals in their last three matches.
Therefore, it feels as though things are finally starting to click, with Portsmouth no doubt boosted by the return of Colby Bishop, who has two goals in three games since making his comeback.
Josh Murphy has also found some form as of late, which has no doubt contributed to the club’s increased success going forward in recent weeks.
However, it isn’t just the attacking players who stepped up against Bristol City, but the defenders too, with Poole in particular enjoying a productive afternoon after his recent struggles.
Regan Poole back to his best for Portsmouth against Bristol City
While Bishop, Murphy and Callum Lang will no doubt steal the headlines with their goals, Poole’s contributions at the back were just as important to Portsmouth claiming all three points on Saturday.
As per Sofascore, the centre-back made six clearances as well as four tackles, while he also blocked one shot and made one interception while managing to avoid being dribbled past.
In addition, Poole won 100 per cent of his ground duels, and two of his three aerial duels, while only giving away one foul. He wasn’t as comfortable on the ball, however, completing just 66 per cent of his passes and only providing four accurate long balls from nine attempts.
However, Mousinho would have been most interested in the 26-year-old’s defensive contributions, and those were relatively flawless.
Therefore, after such a long injury layoff, and some struggles finding his feet again, it feels as though this might have been a big turning point for Poole, which could prove to be huge for Portsmouth’s survival hopes during the second half of the season.
In other Portsmouth news, Ian Darke has urged the board to immediately strengthen in January.
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