Harris reflects on Plymouth draw
Pompey Academy let slip a two-goal lead against Plymouth to draw 2-2 for the second successive weekend at Furze Lane.
They broke the deadlock early in the second half when a long throw was only partially cleared and Tommy Scutt smashed the loose ball into the net.
And Dan Smith bundled home from close range to double the advantage after Jack Chandler’s delivery had been headed across goal by Harvey Bradbury.
But Plymouth reduced the deficit through Rio Garside, before a defensive error allowed Dan Rooney to secure a share of the spoils.
Academy coach Mikey Harris said: “You’re always going to be disappointed not to win when you’ve got such a commanding lead.
“It was a fairly even first half and a bit of a scrappy contest, but we were controlling possession and created some chances.
“Tommy scored a good goal and then we got the second. Harvey’s header was probably going in anyway, but Dan followed up like any decent attacking player should.
“That’s when it all started to go a bit pear-shaped unfortunately. We lost our concentration and perhaps a bit of complacency started to creep in.
“Plymouth came at us because they had nothing to lose and their first goal was disappointing from our point of view because we were defending far too deep.
“It was an individual mistake for the second. There was a shanked back-pass from the halfway line and our keeper Nick Hall tried to get to it first, but the opposition player was able to lob it into an empty net.
“Although it was one player making an error, you could see it coming because of the performance of the whole group – we only had ourselves to blame.
“We improved after that and had chances to secure the victory, but were unfortunately unable to score again.
“It’s a learning curve for the boys because when you’re 2-0 up at home, you should be able to see the game out.
“That has given us something to work in training and hopefully we’ll be better for the experience.”
Pompey: Hall; Chandler, Wakley (Casey 70), Saidy, McDowell; Widdrington, Scutt; Bedford, Smith (Mayes 62), Woodward (Read 83); Bradbury