Winger happy with latest friendly win
The pre-season period is all about getting ready for the competitive fixtures that follow.
But Kyle Bennett still believes it is important that Pompey pick up victories from their summer friendlies.
It has all gone to plan so far, with victory over Salisbury followed by Saturday’s 6-0 rout of Havant & Waterlooville.
Conor Chaplin bagged a treble in the Westleigh Park triumph and Bennett was happy with the overall performance.
The winger said: “Seven to eight weeks without touching a ball doesn’t seem too much, but you do lose that sharpness a bit.
"You also want to win football matches and we’ve done that in the last two games without conceding a goal."
“So getting a feel back for things like when you make your runs, as well building your fitness, is crucial.
“But you also want to win football matches and we’ve done that in the last two games without conceding a goal.
“It was the perfect workout for us and a few of the boys were able to get more than 70 minutes into them.
“That’s always useful at this stage, while you can’t really complain about six goals and another clean sheet.
“I hit the bar and the post – and sent about another seven over the stand! But it doesn’t really matter who scores the goals.
“Conor got a hat-trick and it’s always nice for the strikers to hit the target. I think everyone out there had a decent game.”
Bennett combined well with Enda Stevens down the left as Pompey secured the League Two title last term.
But following the left-back’s switch to Sheffield United, he is looking forward to working with new loan signing Tareiq Holmes-Dennis.
Bennett said: “Enda and I know each other well and we did forge a good partnership, but he’s moved on to the Championship – and he deserved that.
“Tareiq’s come in and he’s a brilliant player. It’s a great acquisition for the squad and you can already see what he’ll bring to the team.”