I’m not very good at writing these match reports so instead of a nice and flowing report I’ve jotted down a loose collection of my thoughts based on the following headings: Pre-match feelings, first-half diagnosis, second-half diagnosis, full-time diagnosis, star man for United, worst player for United, opposition comment, ex-Mags comment, Toon pros, Toon cons, fans comment and post-match feelings.

First up…

Pre-match feelings?

Cursing myself for not bringing me wellies, armbands (I can’t swim!) and for buying a jacket a few weeks back now that was advertised as being waterproof. Like shite it was, bastards! Regarding the actual match itself I was quite excited at the prospect of seeing Rossi in action from the start and looking forward to the return of Andy Cole (a boyhood hero of mine) who I admit I warmly applauded.

I wasn’t expecting a classic game or a convincing win though, especially not in those conditions and to be honest I was expecting a defeat or a tense and dramatic penalty shoot-out. I didn’t expect the game to last either.

First-half diagnosis?

Given the conditions and changes made by Roeder the team struggled to get to grips with events and it has to be said the first-half was an abortion of a football match with the ball often played 10ft above the surface and when players on both sides did try to play it on the deck the ball was simply swallowed up in the rain drenched pitch.

I missed Harper’s early fine save as I got into St. James’ Park late but other than that Portsmouth didn’t threaten too much in the half with our solid defence playing a good off-side trap, both former Mags Cole and Lua Lua victims of the linesman’s flag far too often to simply be down to bad luck and poor decision making from the officials.

At the other end Martins had a lobbed effort that sailed over the bar and there were one or two moments of action in and around their box but both ‘keeper’s were having a rather comfortable evening from what I saw through my restricted viewing - it was like looking through a window being pelted with rain.

Three players stood out in the half - Bramble, Milner and N’Zogbia.

On a night when players were losing their footing the much maligned Bramble didn’t put a foot wrong and timed countless bone crunching tackles to perfection.

Milner worked his socks off and didn’t allow their back-four - especially his opposite man - any time on the ball or space to operate in such was his pressing and tigerish tackling. He lead by example and others followed his lead which really unsettled the away team.

As for N’Zogbia he was the only player on either side who was prepared to run at players and despite the conditions, he was skating about the pitch like he was on ice at times and the ball seemed stuck to his foot as he rode challenges and puddles.

Come the break 0-0 was a fair reflection of the game and no side looked the better of the other

Second-half diagnosis?

With the disappointing Martins off at the restart and Duff on in his place the balance of the team looked much better and tellingly, far more potent. With Duff hugging the touchline, Rossi coming deep and twisting and turning, Milner everywhere, N’Zogbia running through the centre and Nobby dictating play from the right we camped in their half from the off and it pretty much stayed that way until the end.

Although I missed Rossi’s goal because I was too busy complaining about a penalty that never was when Taylor blatantly threw himself over man and ball in an embarrassing theatrical and puffy way, it was richly deserved.

The appalling ITV League Cup footage at 11.00pm later showed Rossi twisting and tucking his shot away in one go to finish with aplomb and he could have so easily added to his first Toon goal with some instinctive movement getting him into great positions throughout the 90 minutes.

Sadly our end product at times wasn’t quite as good as our excellent approach play which was triggered by that man Nobby Solano whose weight of pass, clever interchange of play, link up with others and all-round intelligence lifted the pattern of play from Sunday League to Premiership class, aye, even in such conditions.

We passed the ball about exceptionally well at times and it was one such fine move that lead to our second and Nobby’s first, the little Peruvian heading in at the far post after tracking play from deep to get on the end of a superb Duff cross.

2-0 and full value for it. And it could have been more well before the 3rd came our way with wayward shooting, over elaborate play, bad timing and the effective David James all proving obstacles to yet more goals.

I missed the final goal too as I was busy checking to see if the bairns (nephews) were OK and even now I don’t fully know quite what happened, all I know is Solano scored it, although I’m sure the daft announcer bloke credited Rossi with it.

Anyway 3-0 could have been 5-0 and really, I can’t remember anything of note in that final 45 from Pompey.

Full-time diagnosis?

Like I said we were full value for our excellent and much needed win and what pleased me most was the manner in which we took to the game - fully charged up and prepared for a battle, the football we played at times and the intelligence of our play, the numerous individual performances and above all else, the way we adapted to the conditions, the game and the threat (or lack of as it transpired - all down to us) of the opposition. Tactically and selection wise Roeder got it spot on too. Not quite the perfect night but pretty much spot on.

Star man for United?

It is hard to single anyone out as there were a good few who put in an excellent performance both at the back, in midfield and after the break especially, in attack. I have to pick Nobby though not just for his brace but his football intelligence which really did lift the way we played to a different level, it was like watching the Nobby of old as he made a mockery of the conditions with his touch, weight of pass and his all-round play.

Worst United player?

Sadly this is an easy one - Martins. To be fair we were playing the long-ball while he was on the pitch which didn’t help and it would have been interesting to see how he’d have fared in the second half at the tip of a fluid, quick and ball playing team. That wasn’t to be though and I’m now wondering whether our pattern of play was down to fault with the removal of the quite static and lethargic Martins and not quite down to design.

Opposition comment?

I was looking forward to seeing Pompey live given their lofty League position, but, and taking nothing away from us, they just weren’t at the races and I think they bottled it in the end, they certainly bottled a few tackles. They were disappointing and their performance and our own just goes to show you how average the Premiership is if they can be where they are. I know they were missing a few regulars but so were we and we battered them at times. That’s frustrating because there is no real reason why we can’t be up there with them in the League based on this admittedly one off match.

Ex-Mags comments?

Former number 9 man Cole still has that movement and great sense of anticipation but his pace has went and so has his sharpness. His best moment saw him hit a speculative effort from long range in the first-half that hit the bar but was flagged anyway. Other than that he didn’t get many kicks.

O’Brien had a no nonsense game and didn’t make many mistakes and can’t really be faulted, as a unit we pulled them all over the place and got at them quite forcibly. OB was simply a byproduct of that, unfortunately for him.

As for Lua Lua, he looked like he was going to undo us with his trickery early on but once Bramble put him on his arse with a fierce but clean tackle he didn’t want to know, hiding in the game and when he was involved, looking for free kicks and making a meal of things much to the amusement of United fans who whistled and jeered him throughout.

Toon-pros?

While to many fans Dyer is a waster and indeed, I hold the same opinion, there is no doubt his return to action is a boost to the club given our thin squad and mounting injuries so leaving bias aside it was very good to see him get on and come off without any problems. Whether he can get into the team, stay fit and have a positive impact remains to be seen. Probably not but even in this cameo he showed how important his pace could be as he eased passed his man a few times and got himself free inside the box only to see an effort go wide… or did James save it? Bloody rain. Anyway Dyer’s return is a plus point as were the following:

Cleansheet
The win
The performance
The defence
The midfield
The attack
THE TEAM
The football
We’re in the next round - hooray
Nicky Butt
Bramble
Dyer
Rossi
Roeder’s tactics
Roeder’s use of subs
Fans left happy

Toon-cons?

Martins’ performance
Taylor’s dive and over-aggressiveness at times

Fans comment?

On the way to the Toon we were listening to Mick Lowes on the radio that was playing in the taxi and he was reporting the crowd to be in the region of 15,000 plus and when we eventually got to the stadium 5 minutes late that figure looked about right but as the minutes ticked by gaps were being filled and inside SJP itself away from the stands it was packed. 25,000 plus was a fantastic turnout on such a rotten night and given our problems. Especially at 20 quid a pop for adult tickets and a tenner for bairns’ - although yours truly and wor lot all got in for a tenner. Too right!

The atmosphere inside was excellent throughout with the back of Leazes L7 and the back of the Gallowgate seemingly in competition with each other which can only be a good thing. The Gallowgate won this one easily despite what looked like fewer numbers as they seemed to be the loudest while those in the Leazes with their clearly visible “Toon Ultras” banner seemed to spend their time winding up the few hundred Pompey fans who made the trip. Overall though the atmosphere was one of a supportive nature with fans getting behind the team, no moaning, no chants against anyone, just good all-round noise and support levels sustained throughout.

I didn’t hear a peep out of the Pompey fans to be honest but the odd chant from wor lot of “your support is shit” or “shall we sing a song for you” was rather embarrassing. As far as I’m concerned those hardy lads and lasses up in the gods, although quiet, turned up which can’t be said for 25,000 of wor lot. When you look at it like that you can only applaud Pompey fans.

Post-match feelings?

This win will mean nowt if we don’t follow it up with another at the weekend and our league form continues on the downward spiral it has done since the start of the season. Overall though - very happy, for now. Oh, and… Freddy who? This is what it is all about, the team and winning. Well done Roeder and the lads.

Anyway as you can probably tell from reading this I’m no ‘Biffa’ from Nufc.com fame but I hope I’ve covered enough important stuff and if I have missed out on anything, hopefully someone else who was also at the match reading this can fill you in on anything missed out.

As ever, use the form below to have your say, I look forward to reading your views and hopefully responding to any you send in.

PS Any Pompey fans reading? Send in your thoughts too.