View: 40% Josh Murphy lets John Mousinho down as Portsmouth thrash Coventry City
John Mousinho would have been disappointed by Josh Murphy’s display as Portsmouth thrashed Coventry City on Saturday.
Pompey got back to winning ways with a huge 4-1 victory over Coventry City in the Championship at Fratton Park on 21 December.
After his struggles in recent weeks, Callum Lang rediscovered his shooting boots in some style, blowing Frank Lampard’s side away as he hit four goals in front of the Portsmouth faithful, taking his Championship goals tally to nine for the season.
It was the perfect response from Mousinho’s side, who were beaten 4-0 by Derby at Pride Park Stadium last time out [13 December], and a win which lifts the Blues to 20th in the Championship, which means they will spend Christmas outside of the relegation zone.
Therefore, Mousinho is bound to be delighted with the result. However, he wouldn’t have been pleased by the performances of all of his players.
And one player in particular who let his manager down was Murphy, who struggled to make an impact in the final third at Fratton Park.
Josh Murphy struggles as Portsmouth thrash Coventry City
Murphy has been in fine form in recent weeks and looked to be becoming a key part of Portsmouth’s survival efforts in the Championship. Therefore, his performance against Coventry City would have perhaps come as a surprise to Mousinho and supporters.
Every player is allowed an off day, especially with the games coming thick and fast, and supporters will hope that Murphy bounces straight back when Pompey travel to Watford in the Championship on 26 December. However, his display against Coventry was particularly concerning.
As per Sofascore, across the 71 minutes he played, Murphy managed just 24 touches of the ball, yet still managed to give possession away 11 times. In addition, while his one long ball forward was accurate, the one cross he attempted was inaccurate, and he only managed to complete 43 per cent of his passes.
The 29-year-old had two shots at goal, however, neither hit the target, and he also succeeded with just 40 per cent of his attempted dribbles. Things didn’t get much better defensively either, with the Portsmouth ace winning just 50 per cent of his ground duels [four out of eight] while also being dribbled past once.
Things worked out okay for Mousinho’s side thanks to Lang, which means Murphy’s subpar display is unlikely to receive too much external attention.
However, internally, Mousinho will no doubt be asking for more of his forward.
In other Portsmouth news, a doctor has shared an injury update on forward Mark O’Mahony.
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