Penalty defeat against Gillingham
Pompey Academy exited the Youth Alliance Cup following a penalty shoot-out defeat to Gillingham in the second round.
Kaleem Haitham had fired the Blues ahead with a neat first half finish at Furze Lane.
But the hosts were unable to convert a host of other opportunities and the Kent side took advantage by grabbing an equaliser.
Conor Chaplin and James Granger both scored in the shoot-out, but Adam May and Calvin Davis saw their efforts saved, while the Gills converted all four of their efforts.
Academy coach Mikey Harris (pictured) said: “It was a carbon copy of Saturday’s match really, as we created plenty of chances, but just couldn’t convert them.
“We totally dominated the first half and there were some great patterns of play. Kaleem scored a tidy goal – even though Conor tried to pinch it on the line!
“Perhaps we got a bit nervous in the second half because Gillingham caused us more problems.
“Their goal came from a quick free-kick, but we otherwise dealt with set-pieces well and that’s something we’ve been working on in training.
“I was pleased to see some positive individual performances, while we’re starting to find a level of consistency.
“It’s just that end product in the box that we need to work on. The lads have to be more composed because they’ve usually got more time than they think.
“Of course we’re disappointed to exit the competition – especially on penalties – but the bigger picture is that we’re starting to see signs of quality from certain players.
Pompey: Bass (George 71); Rwakarambwe (Oxlade-Chamberlain 71), Granger, Field, Davis; Nilsen, May; Haitham, Chaplin, Sayers (Joseph-Buadi 64); Gill