Boss furious with ‘rubbish’ second half showing
Pompey exited the FA Cup against non-league opposition for the first time at Aldershot.
And Andy Awford vented his fury after watching the Blues limp to a 1-0 first round replay defeat.
Mark Molesley stabbed home the only goal of the game late on following a huge scramble in the box.
But Awford called Pompey’s entire second half display ‘embarrassing’ and ‘rubbish’ as they crashed out of the competition.
The Blues boss said: “I’m as angry as I’ve ever been and I feel let down. Things needed to be said after that performance and they were.
“Aldershot fully deserved to go through to the next round and well done to them.
“But our inconsistency is frightening – I don’t know how you can go from that first half display to the second half one, which was embarrassing.
“We played as individuals after the break and people stopped playing for the team. We should have stuck to what we’d been doing before.
“I feel as low as I have done since becoming manager of this football club.
“We need to score goals when we’re on top in games, but we don’t – and that’s not just a criticism of the forwards.
“We’re a comfortable team, a nice team. It’s got to stop and it will stop. We haven’t got a nasty, clinical edge.
“Three away goals in the league all season tells a story and it’s miles away from where we should be.
“The form at home is very positive, but we can’t keep being up and down like a yo-yo like we were in this game. The first half was good and the second was rubbish.
“I’ll defend the players to the hilt because I think we’ve got a talented squad, but I’ve had enough and they know there has to be changes.”
Awford has now called for a positive response from his players when they return to league action against Morecambe this weekend.
He said: “Everybody’s under pressure. We have to win on Saturday – it’s as simple as that.
“We’ll have a crowd that’s once again comfortably the biggest in the league. The supporters keep coming and without them we’re nothing.
“We’ve got to stick together and work hard to make sure we win and then win again because we need to find some consistency.”