Portsmouth Academy simply have to learn after Swindon Town frailties
Portsmouth Academy fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Swindon Town and they have plenty to learn from as a result.
Pompey Academy have had a mixed campaign so far, with positives such as the performances of Cody Howard weighed down by results like that against Swindon.
Consistency has been hard to come by for the Blues but that will only improve with more and more playing time.
Portsmouth currently find themselves 10th in the Youth Alliance league, having picked up 22 points from 15 games, but things could be far better if lessons can be learned sooner rather than later.
Swindon Town defeat serves as crucial lesson
Pompey simply weren’t at the races against Swindon and were fortunate to get their consolation goal through Nathaniel Chioma.
Performances need to improve on a more consistent basis if results are going to flow, and they certainly have the ability to achieve that.
The main thing for Pompey is consistency, and if they can find that, the future is certainly promising with a clear pathway to the Portsmouth senior team already emerging.
As the season goes on, more lessons will appear in the form of defeat, but it’s how those lessons are taken onboard that matters the most.
Of course, retaining that talent will also be crucial to any future goals with Premier League clubs often sniffing around the lower leagues to snap up young stars.
Consistency will be key to senior-call ups
At youth level, the main goal is to expose players to regular football and prepare them for the next step in their career – hopefully at Fratton Park for years to come.
Along the way, there will be successes and there will be failures but how players adapt to those situations is what can often shape their future.
With Portsmouth looking to secure Championship survival at senior level, chances may rise for some of their brightest prospects to get a taste of first-team football towards the latter stage of the season.
Should that be the case, they must grab the opportunity with both hands