Portsmouth FC Leeds 3 Portsmouth 3: Neil Allen's verdict - Exhilarating, bonkers and defying expectation. The Blues are back By Neil Allen Published 11th Aug 2024, 09:00 BST Updated 11th Aug 2024, 09:28 BST Comment Watch more of our videos on Shots! and live on Freeview channel 276 Visit Shots! now Pompey emerged from their banishment to the basement, blinking repeatedly as eyes readjusted to dazzling Championship sunlight. At times, the sentence appeared to be life imprisonment, a miserable exile condemning them to relegation scraps to remain in the Football League, defeats to non-league FA Cup opposition, goal-scoring goalkeepers, and Liam Sercombe.
They were once consecutive Premier League top-10 finishers, FA Cup winners, Wembley regulars, Community Shield participants, and the home to several serving England internationals. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sign up to our Portsmouth FC newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues.
Please try again later. Submitting..
. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Notice and Terms of Service apply. Suddenly they were greeted with ‘You’re not famous any more’ by gloating Accrington, Morecambe, Fleetwood and Forest Green fans, often amid dismal Blues losses.
Callum Lang celebrates with goalscorer Elias Sorensen after registering on his Pompey debut. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages | Jason Brown/ProSportsImages Now Elland Road served as the guard of honour to mark Pompey ’s long-awaited return following an agonising 12 year-absence. A buoyant Leeds crowd of 36,432 represented the second-biggest league attendance involving the Blues since April 2010, when at Everton in the Premier League.
This day would always be special, irrespective of the outcome. Admittedly, the travelling Fratton faithful could not foresee a fairy-tale return, even football with its blind loyalty and hysterical tribalism couldn’t paint this as anything other than an opening-day battering. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Certainly for the visiting media, the remarkable press room offering of fried breakfast, chocolate bars, crisps and an unlimited supply of fizzy drinks and Red Bull upon arrival raised suspicions of being plumped up for a slaughter.
Bleak optimism also wasn’t helped by the sight of Kusini Yengi absent from duty through a groin issue, handing former Danish third tier striker Elias Sorensen his debut after just eight days in England. That totalled six players missing, arguably the vast majority first-team starters, including the prolific Colby Bishop, the most outstanding performer in pre-season in Josh Murphy, and half of the central defence. Sure enough, 10 minutes into proceedings, a rampant Leeds had rattled the bar three times and led through Pascal Struijk’s penalty.
Pompey were under threat of annihilation upon their grand re-entrance. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was undeniably an uncomfortable watch for a club which, since Paul Cook’s appointment in May 2015, had become healthily accustomed to dominating matches and amassing victory after victory, albeit at League One and League Two levels. Yet for a ground which once staged the footballing miracle of Richard Hughes scoring his sole Pompey goal in his 131st - and last - league match for the club, what unfolded was another improbable sight.
Ultimately, John Mousinho’s gutsy men departed with a 3-3 draw having subsequently twice taken the lead, mustered up just four shots on target, and heartbreakingly been denied victory by a 96th-minute leveller from a Leeds substitute. It was an exhilarating match, a fine advertisement for the Championship in front of the Sky Sports cameras, and an inspirational start to the season from a side brimming with character and commitment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad On 23 minutes - and just the second time the Blues had entered Leeds’ penalty area - Sorensen accepted a wonderfully-disguised pass from the inspirational Marlon Pack to find himself with a shooting opportunity.
He took two touches before lashing a left-footed shot past Ilan Meslier for a shock leveller absolutely against the run of play. Then, four minutes before half-time, Pack’s free-kick into the box was headed clear, only to be retrieved by Lang who, with his second touch and while on the move, crashed a superb right-footed shot from outside the penalty area into the far corner to make it 2-1. Although the Blues had a shock first-half lead, a mere 56 seconds into the second half it was 2-2 when Wilfried Gnonto cut in from the left and across Conor Shaughnessy, who failed to block the accompanying shot which entered the net.
Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And so it remained until stoppage time, when substitute Christian Saydee powerfully fought his way into the box past Jayden Bogle, with both tugging at each other’s shirt. However, Leeds’ right-back went to the extremes of putting his arm around the neck of Saydee in the process - with Lang calmly slotting home the resulting penalty. Read More 'Leeds thought it would be an easy afternoon': Portsmouth boss applauds gutsy Elland Road point Yet six minutes into time added on, too many backed off Joel Piroe as he advanced on Pompey’s goal and he poked a ball through for Aaronson, who proceeded to put a shot out of Norris’ reach to make it 3-3.
The substitute should really have won it after that, only to drag an easier opportunity wide and spare the Blues further last-gasp agony. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Still, the Pompey faithful weren’t begrudging an Elland Road point, neither were they cursing letting slip an opening-day victory at one of the promotion favourites. Incidentally, the last time the Blues’ first away game of the season was held at 12.
30pm on a Saturday was in August 2013 against Accrington in League Two. There were 2,531 present. Welcome back to the Championship.
Continue Reading Related topics: Pompey Leeds Comment Comment Guidelines National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.
.
