Portsmouth ‘could pounce for former Fratton Park favourites’ if survival pulled off
Abu Kamara of all people came up trumps for Hull City on Monday night as they salvaged a point in their survival battle in the Championship, alongside Portsmouth and numerous others.
Former Fratton Park loanee Kamara scored at the MKM Stadium against Coventry City with eight minutes remaining, playing out a 1-1 draw which could not only affect Coventry’s play-off hopes but Hull’s own battle to avoid the drop.
Portsmouth themselves drew 2-2 with Derby County at Fratton on Saturday (12 April), a result which could have been better but can be settled upon in the context of the encounter, in which the Blues trailed twice and defeat would have looked disastrous on the overall Championship outlook.
Portsmouth could find route back to former stars
Portsmouth and John Mousinho are openly huge fans of Kamara as a prime example, with the young winger lighting up Fratton with his displays on loan last season.
Borrowed from Norwich City at the time, Kamara’s 20 goal contributions helped arrow Pompey out of League One, before he was brought to Hull for a £4.5million fee which blew the Blues out of the water.
The Fratton faithful still reminisce on his excellent performances, and his goal means Hull are now a point behind Portsmouth with four fixtures to go rather than two points – which is how matters looked when Matt Grimes had notched Coventry in front early in the second half on Humberside on Monday.
Should Pompey survive at Hull’s expense, a deal for Kamara could be back on the table. Previous admissions had been made that the Blues explored a deal to get the 21-year-old back.
Elsewhere, three former Blues started for Derby on the South Coast on Saturday: Marcus Harness, Matt Clarke and a brief ex-Pompey man, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
Harness in particular has been very impressive since leaving Pompey and could be an option moving forward if Derby were to suffer the drop.
A fan favourite who recently turned 29, he has that ideal mix of experience and enough fruitful years left in the tank, akin to Josh Murphy who has been a revelation on the wing this campaign.
Relegated clubs will be sure to see their squads decimated as sides scramble to ensure a strong enough roster to establish themselves further in the Championship for this time next year.
Mousinho knows main gripe heading into final four
The clear and obvious problem for Portsmouth this season has been their dreadful away form – they have lost 12 of their last 13 on the road compared to much more glittering fortunes at Fratton Park.
The Blues have two apiece remaining to play, with their penultimate away game coming on Good Friday (18 April) against Norwich City.
| Portsmouth – final four | Date |
| Norwich (A) | 18 April |
| Watford (H) | 21 April |
| Sheffield Wed (A) | 26 April |
| Hull (H) | 3 May |
They are then back in PO4 three days later as Watford visit in the Easter Monday round of fixtures.
Pompey have the joint-second-worst defensive record in the division this term, shipping 66 goals, but it can be understood to an extent given the injuries Mousinho has had to contend with at the back.