‘Devlin does himself no favours’ with Portsmouth showing v Blackburn Rovers
Terry Devlin would have been hoping for a starting role for Portsmouth against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
The defender came into the clash at Fratton Park on 29 March off the back of his senior Northern Ireland debut but was named on the bench for Pompey.
Rovers travelled to the south coast and fell to a 1-0 defeat as an early strike from Josh Murphy proved to be the difference.
Despite picking up a much-needed win, Devlin did very little to show John Mousinho why he deserves a regular starting role in PO4.
Devlin had little impact v Blackburn Rovers
There is no doubt that the 21-year-old has the potential to become a regular at Fratton Park in the near future.
With that being said, the former Glentoran man isn’t quite at the required level yet, regardless of his showing on the international stage.
That was on show against Blackburn as the young defender failed to showcase his abilities despite coming on while his side were 1-0 up.
As a substitute, the Northern Irishman was afforded 29 minutes of action but registered just 13 touches while completing only three passes [FotMob].
There was little to no defensive influence from Devlin as he failed to complete a single tackle while contributing with just one interception.
| Stat | Terry Devlin v Blackburn Rovers |
| Minutes | 29 |
| Touches | 13 |
| Passes | 3 |
| Tackle win rate (%) | 0 |
| Duel win rate (%) | 20 |
The defender also lost four duels and committed one foul.
These frailties at full-back didn’t have a negative impact on the result, it could have cost Mousinho and Co. if he had started against Valerien Ismael’s side.
Devlin must do more for Portsmouth
Devlin came on for Adil Aouchiche as Pompey looked to see out the game against Rovers, and ultimately, his side were successful in doing so.
With that being said, the defender didn’t do much to contribute towards this, which is unlikely to help his chances moving forward.
Considering the positive performances of Cohen Bramall and Zak Swanson against Blackburn, it could take time to earn a regular starting role.
Looking ahead to a clash against Millwall, the Northern Ireland international needs to give a better account of himself to earn a spot in the side.