Preview: Portsmouth v Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood Town are set to face Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Saturday 8 October, and we have all you need to know ahead of the 3pm kick-off in our match preview.
Fixture: Portsmouth v Fleetwood Town
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Saturday 8 October 2022
Venue: Fratton Park, Frogmore Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, Southsea, PO4 8RA
The Cods head into their away clash with Pompey after winning their last two away league games against Peterborough United and Burton Albion, with both fixtures ending in a 1-0 score line.
In the Peterborough fixture, Town called upon their captain, Josh Vela, to score the all important goal as he netted a half-volley from the edge of the area after Carlos Mendes Gomes' two strikes were kept out by the keeper on the night.
After the international break, and a heart-breaking loss to Barnsley, Scott Brown's side travelled to the Pirelli Stadium on Tuesday and, after Harvey Macadam's venomous strike from the right flew past Ben Garratt, Town held out and brought home the three points.
Pompey are high-flying this season as they currently find themselves in fourth position in the Sky Bet League One table, even after their loss to Ipswich Town in their last outing.
It was a five-goal thriller at Portman Road for Danny Cowley's men, which started off with Marcus Harness scoring against his former side, putting the Tractor Boys ahead. The lead was short lived however as Colby Bishop stepped up to the spot to level things up just after the half-hour mark.
Second half drama would ensue as three goals would go add to the scoreline in just six minutes, starting with Freddie Ladapo putting the hosts back in from before Bishop finished his second spot kick of the game soon after.
The winner would be scored 10 minutes from time though by former-Cod Wes Burns to secure the win for Ipswich.
STEVEN WHITTAKER AHEAD OF THE POMPEY CLASH
Assistant head coach Steven Whittaker spoke to the media ahead of Fleetwood Town's trip down south to face Portsmouth at Fratton Park – here's what he had to say:
"I think the stats tell you a lot about them [Portsmouth], they are a high-energy team that scores a lot of goals and can score goals from set plays so there are different challenges in the match that we are going to face. We'll prepare the boys the best we can and hopefully, we can stand up to it and push our game onto them and give them something to think about.
"There is no doubt that it will be a tough game, but the good thing about matches from our point of view this season is that we've been in every game no matter who it has been against, whether that be home or away, so we are hoping that the game on Saturday will be no different.
"It'll be a challenge; we know there are big teams in this league, some expected to be near the top, and some near the bottom, but we've had some results against Plymouth and Derby, who are expected to be up there. We beat Peterborough as well so there's no reason for us to fear anything, we need to go into the game with a plan as we know the boys will buy into it, whatever we go with."
GET YOUR ONWARD CARD TODAY!
Make sure you are in the stands to watch the Cods during the 2022/23 Sky Bet League One season by getting your very own Onward Card. Adult tickets start at just £14.17 a month and Under-16s from just £1.92 a month.
Details on this season's cards are HERE.
Portsmouth vs Fleetwood Town on 08 Oct 22