Bonnie Marko

Portsmouth 2-0 Watford


This fixture has always been a strange one for me. As much as I am devoted to Portsmouth, I do have a second allegiance in today's opposition. My Dad, a lifelong Watford fan, did just enough to brainwash me into being a laid-back Hornet, but not enough to ever convince me that my loyalties lie North of London. Mutually, we both decide that our ties are too strong in this game, and it's the only occasions on which we will sit in opposite ends of the ground. I was travelling with an enemy, and I did not want to be made humble.

The game itself was inconsistent, but enjoyable. It was rather like a log flume; you had some slow, trundling bits followed by some exciting bumps and splashes of drama. Despite the referee's best attempts to break up the flow of the match, I felt that Portsmouth, at times, played football with both effectiveness and aesthetics in mind, and passed the ball with a lot of promise.

Despite a couple of suspensions and injuries the team-sheet looked bravely attack-minded. Varney and Rocha were both out and Ward and Halford were serving a suspension, but that didn't stop us from having a watertight defence and a big diverse attacking line. With Futacs, Huseklepp, Lawrence and Kitson on the pitch, goals seemed likely.

The first half started off brightly for Pompey. They were confident playing the ball in and around the box, and had a few decent attempts from distance. It showed potential, but was one peg shy of being a goal-threat. Watford seemed to be devoid of response as our defence looked like it was coping nicely. Mokoena and Pearce were clearing away danger comfortably, and simply would not be beaten in the air. Meanwhile Ben Haim and Mattock were dealing with no real threat down the wings whatsoever.

Then the game suddenly began to drag as Portsmouth started to lose their ambition. About seven or eight times the ball found its way back to Stephen Henderson, who lumped the ball upfield every time which resulted in us relinquishing possession. It seemed as though our defence were unable to pass the ball forward, and kept playing it sideways or back to the goalkeeper. It wasn't so much a bit scrappy all of a sudden as just an ineffectual repetitive motion.

Things gradually picked up until the half-time whistle, with Kitson having a couple of shots on goal to keep Scott Loach firmly on, and off, his toes. Portsmouth's resurgence continued after the break with another few chances before Marko Futacs got a deserved goal. Lawrence's corners had been dangerous all game, and at last he managed to find the 6-foot-5 Hungarian, who poked a header past Loach to make it 1-0. It was the least Portsmouth deserved.

Watford showed little signs of response. For a side that had gone eight matches unbeaten, they seemed totally switched off and lacked the effort to justify the trip down the A3 an admittedly impressive number of Watford fans had made. They knocked the ball across the face of goal a couple of times, but in truth I can't remember Henderson having to make a proper save all match, and I think that would've continued if the game had been four days long. Instead, Watford seemed to be getting more and more frustrated, picking up a few bookings through some rash tackles.

Pretty soon Lawrence nodded home a second goal after Loach had his fingers stung by an almighty strike, but the Irish midfielder was ruled offside. Nonetheless, Pompey battled on hard, and the game was practically won when goalkeeper Scott Loach was sent-off for a confusing clash just outside the area involving him, Futacs and Mariappa. As far as I could tell, it looked like the three players just collided, so the sending off seemed rather harsh. However, various news outlets have made it unclear as to whether it was a foul or handball that was given, so it's really difficult to say whether or not the decision was fair until the replay is shown on television tonight.

I don't think it would've ultimately mattered though. Watford were poor, and within minutes Hayden Mullins stroked home the second with an excellent finish. His last goal was the winner in a fortuitous 3-2 win over Watford last season, and today he capped off a much more merited victory over the same side. Late on, Futacs had an effort from distance which was both sublime and powerful, but it crashed off the crossbar.

There were good performances all over the pitch for Portsmouth. Both Jason Pearce and Aaron Mokoena were as solid as diamond at the back. Liam Lawrence is a havoc machine, but my favourite today was Marko Futacs. The big man is a powerhouse in every sense of the word (minus the 'house' bit). He blasted his way past players and did everything to thunder his way to the ball before anyone else. He knows exactly how to use his size and strength to his advantage, and I'm pretty excited to see how he'll do over the coming weeks.

I think there's many things we can take from today's game as positives. For one, our squad appears to have the depth to cope with a few injuries, which hasn't been the case for a long time. Furthermore, our resilience at home is continuing with results against the form teams, showing no match is holding points out of our reach. Appleton has continued the trend set by Whittingham and Gray, and has arguably advanced on it, with the team striding confidently and relegation fading ever further into the distance.

It was a lovely win and a game to savour. My only annoyance today was with the club. Somehow I had tickets for seats that were already taken by two young lads who had half-season tickets for the same spot. Consequently I had to sit somewhere else in the stand, which is not a disaster but it is a bit annoying when you've booked somewhere specific.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Marko Futacs
VILLAIN OF THE MATCH: Carl Dickinson