‘Mousinho to blame for Preston defeat’ as Kusini Yengi decision costs Portsmouth
John Mousinho made the brave call to hand Kusini Yengi a start for Portsmouth against Preston North End on Saturday.
Pompey travelled to Deepdale on 15 March and fell to their second defeat in as many games despite a late Colby Bishop equaliser.
The Lilywhites went on to score a winner through Stefan Thordarson in a suckerpunch to the south coast side who had battled all afternoon.
Ultimately a large majority of the blame for this defeat has to be placed on Mousinho’s doorstep after opting to surprisingly start Yengi.
Mousinho gets it wrong with Yengi v Preston
There has been a general lack of goals coming from the Fratton Park club in recent weeks, failing to score more than one in the last four games.
Callum Lang is the current top scorer with ten which isn’t necessarily good enough if Pompey have ambitions to rise up the Championship.
Yengi could prove to be that man moving forward after how electric he was in League One before picking up his frustrating injury.
With that being said, he has failed to score in ten second-tier appearances this season, making just three starts and contributing very little.
This makes it all the more bizarre as to why the 26-year-old was afforded the chance to lead the line against Preston who operated with a five-back formation.
The Australia international seriously struggled and had no sort of positive impact up front before eventually being hooked with over 20 minutes to go.
The risk to start the former Adelaide United ace clearly didn’t pay off and the blame for that has to be on Mousinho who simply got it wrong.
Bishop must start as Portsmouth striker
Another game, another goal for Bishop just goes to show how impressive he can be as a number nine in the Championship.
The 28-year-old needs to be given the freedom to start up front for Pompey with Yengi operating as a second string option.
The Australian has proven that he hasn’t quite found the knack to perform in the second tier and needs to be given the chance to do that off the bench.
It is positive to see Mousinho take risks but when they don’t pay off, like against Preston, it can harm his side’s chances, which could prove to be hugely damaging as time goes on.