Bradbury brace secures victory
Harvey Bradbury (pictured) bagged a brace as Pompey Academy returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Yeovil at Furze Lane.
The striker nodded home Kyle McDowell’s cross at the back post to open the scoring midway through the first half.
But although the Blues were dominating possession and looking comfortable, the visitors managed to grab an equaliser just before the break.
Pompey pushed forward in the second half, with Sam Woodward, Theo Widdrington and Matt Casey all going close.
And they finally made the pressure count late on when McDowell drove a low ball into the area and Bradbury managed to scramble it into the net.
Academy coach Mikey Harris said: “We were very good in possession during the first half and played some nice football on a difficult surface.
“It was a great cross from Kyle for our opening goal and a fantastic header from Harvey as we deservedly took the lead.
“But we never like to make things easy for ourselves and conceded just before the referee blew his whistle for half-time.
“It was a poor goal from our point of view, as the ball ricocheted around our box and we missed a couple of chances to clear it before they turned it in. We needed to show more composure.
“The second half was more open than the first and we weren’t in as much control, but that meant there were more chances for both sides.
“Fortunately, it was us that scored the winner thanks to Harvey being in the right place at the time.
“Overall, we can be pretty pleased with the display and it was certainly a step in the right direction.
“The lads had individual targets and the majority of them responded positively, which contributed to the performance and result we wanted.”
Pompey: Hall; Saidy, Wakley (c), Casey; Brooks (Chandler 64), Scutt, Widdrington, Woodward, McDowell; Mayes, Bradbury
Subs not used: Collins, Lethbridge, Whiting, Dandy