Young Blues comfortably beaten
Pompey Academy’s bright start to their Merit League One campaign came to an abrupt halt with a 4-0 defeat to Leyton Orient at Furze Lane.
Josh Koroma’s brace and goals from Steven Alzate and Christian Owusu secured a comfortable victory for the Londoners.
The hosts had netted nine goals in their previous two encounters, but never came close to troubling Orient.
Academy coach Mikey Harris said: “It was a pretty scrappy game on a dry and bobbly pitch that was not really conducive for passing football.
“We started okay, but then conceded a poor goal after allowing their lad to cut inside and fire in a shot that beat Nick Hall far too easily at his near post.
“But to be fair to Nick, he redeemed himself a few minutes later with a world class save, getting quickly across from one post to the other and denying the striker from point-blank range.
“We were a million miles off our usual standards and told the boys at the break that we were disappointed with their performance levels.
“So we asked for a reaction and that’s what we got for the first 10 minutes of the second half.
“But then we conceded a second goal and you could immediately see the confidence drain from the players.
“Credit to Leyton Orient, who were much better than us on the day. They were energetic, pressed us well, were organised and took their chances.
“But there were not a lot of positives for us. We didn’t create any chances of note, which is unusual, so we’re bitterly disappointed.
“We’ve asked the boys to watch the game back, write a report on their own performance and also select some clips.
“Hopefully we can turn what was a very poor display into a useful learning experience that will make them better players.”
Pompey: Hall; Saidy, Wakley, Casey (Smith 21); Haitham, May, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Scutt, Joseph-Buadi; Woodward (Brooks 60), Bradbury (Mayes 76)