Boss happy with display against Cherries
Pompey’s Emirates FA Cup adventure is over after a 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth.
But Paul Cook has nothing but pride for his troops following their impressive display against Premier League opposition.
A shock looked on the cards when Gary Roberts finished a fine passing move just before the interval.
The Cherries recovered in the second half, though, with goals from Joshua King and Marc Pugh sending them through.
Cook was disappointed with the outcome, but pleased that Pompey were able to match one of the top sides in the country.
The Blues boss said: “There was as a major focus on the game from the national media.
“So we wanted to make sure that by the time we finished, people were speaking well of us as a football team.
“And I’m sure the lads didn’t disappoint anybody that was inside the stadium to watch them.
“When we scored the roof nearly came off the place and the atmosphere was brilliant throughout.
“We played really well in the first half, although you know that a team of Bournemouth’s quality will always have a good spell.
“When you see the players they have available to come off the bench, you just shut your eyes and hope!
“It was a great day for Portsmouth Football Club and the stadium was rocking – the only disappointing thing was that we couldn’t get the win.
“We apologise to our supporters for that, but I think they’ve left the ground feeling proud of their team.
“It was a good game, but at the end we finished second best and we wish Bournemouth well in the next round.”
Now that Pompey have finally exited all cup competitions they can concentrate on trying to win promotion.
Cook said: “I don’t think we deserved to lose the tie, but the reality is we have and now we can concentrate on our league campaign.
“We’ll get over this result and look ahead to Morecambe on Tuesday night, which is a massive game for us.”
Watch Cook’s thoughts on the game below or subscribe to Pompey PlayerHD for extended interviews with the manager and Roberts.