by Neil Weld
Pompey Academy finished third in the prestigious under-19 Stemwede tournament in Germany at the weekend.
The Blues narrowly missed out on a place in the final, losing to Ajax Cape Town on penalties.
But they thrashed Hannover 4-1 in the third-place play-off to ensure they finished the tournament on a high.
Pompey’s first match was a group stage fixture against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday evening.
The game finished 1-1 with Jordan Hughes scoring for the Blues, who had a decent penalty shout turned down at the death.
Pompey’s hopes of progressing to the last four received a blow when – despite taking the lead – they were beaten 4-1 by Hannover in their second match.
But Hughes bagged a brace as the Blues beat Aalborg 2-0 in their final group game.
Pompey finished level on points with the Danes in Group B. The sides could not be separated by goal difference, so the Blues progressed because of their better head-to-head record.
Paul Smalley’s side looked dangerous in the semi-final against Ajax Cape Town but went in behind at the interval.
Pompey twice headed against the crossbar as they looked to level, before Marlon Pack (pictured) finally found the target.
The match went to penalties but the South Africans came out on top, winning the shoot-out 5-4.
Pompey made up for their semi-final disappointment by hammering Hannover 4-1 in the match to decide third place, gaining revenge for their group stage defeat to the Germans in the process.
Pack fired home a fine free-kick after just four minutes, with Nadir Ciftci converting a corner soon after.
Hannover pulled a goal back but that failed to dampen Pompey’s mood and second-half strikes from Ciftci and Pack sealed a convincing Blues victory.
Zenit St. Petersburg won the final, beating Ajax Cape Town 5-4 on penalties following a goalless 90 minutes.