View: Portsmouth get best out of maligned 75% Ogilvie v Bristol City
Portsmouth secured back-to-back home wins in the Championship on Saturday, sweeping aside Bristol City 3-0 at Fratton Park.
Pompey were organised at the back and functioned with ease up top, with Connor Ogilvie one of the star performers on the day.
The left-back has faltered at times defensively this campaign as he makes the step up to the second tier for the first time, but rallied to be part of a resolute defence against Liam Manning’s Robins side.
The win moves Pompey back off the bottom of the table with their fate looking a little more promising.
Connor Ogilvie responds to critics with stern performance for Portsmouth
Ogilvie has often excelled more going forward this season than defensively, as he has been at fault for several frustrating goals conceded.
The full-back has been a consistent starter with Jacob Farrell still absent through injury, as Mousinho looks to gear him up for long-term Championship football.
Against Bristol City on Saturday [7 December], Ogilvie made eight defensive actions and won 75 per cent of his four ground duels [Fotmob], also coming out on top in his sole aerial duel.
This is an improvement on his season average of 59 per cent duel success [Sofascore], coupled with a difficult record on the ball.
In possession and when playing out, Ogilvie has dropped off at times. His pass accuracy in the opposition half has averaged just 54 per cent in the Championship this season, and only 67 per cent overall.
The 28-year-old has executed just an average of 0.7 key passes per game, yet has often looked to play direct to little effect, finding a teammate with just 26 per cent of his long ball attempts.
However, he made a marked improvement with a 71 per cent accuracy in possession on Saturday (7 December), helping tick things over while it helped having the savvy youngster Freddie Potts on his side in the deep-lying two-man midfield.
Ogilvie’s combative style of defensive play and Potts’ streetwise midfield action could be an excellent foil for one another further into this season, while Josh Murphy further ahead on the left-hand side has been unstoppable of late – and he could get even better.
Positionally, Ogilvie is about there when Pompey’s backs are to the wall, excelling in clearances and aerial challenges won compared to other full-backs at his level.
In fact, he remains in the top one percentile for the latter, winning more aerial duels at 3.88 per game over the past year than 99 percent of his direct competitors [FBRef].
There are evident flaws to his game, particularly up against seasoned Championship wingers, but that scrutiny will hopefully help shape him into an adequate operator for Mousinho.
In other Portsmouth news, Ian Darke urges the club to make immediate reinforcements.
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