Pompey take on James Beattie's Accrington Stanley at Fratton Park tomorrow evening in what is surely the most important match in Richie Barker's reign as manager.
Team News
Ryan Taylor may return to the starting line-up if his groin injury has healed but if not then Michael Drennan may be given his first start after scoring at Scunthorpe on Saturday. Andy Barcham's wife still hasn't given birth yet so he may miss the game whilst Simon Ferry, Joe Devera and Danny East are still out.
Kai Naismith is likely to start for Accrington after scoring the winner at Torquay but ex-Pompey striker Danny Webber is likely to miss out with illness. Defender Laurence Wilson serves the second match of his three game ban.
The Match
Saturday's mauling by Scunthorpe has seen a fair few Portsmouth fans reach breaking point as they are fed up with the constant disappointment and humiliation this season continues to throw at them, and it may get worse yet.
Whilst the players have often come in for rightful criticism, Richie Barker is now beginning to feel the brunt of Pompey fans' frustations due to his baffling comments in the media and his negative tactics which have resulted in a turgid style of football that isn't easy to watch, especially when the team is losing.
Should Richie Barker's men be beaten tomorrow by a team managed by someone almost universally loathed by Pompey fans and down in the relegation dogfight then that could well be the straw that breaks the camel's back and the reaction could turn extremely nasty at the final whistle.
For the manager to say during midweek that he's looking to change the squad in the summer and then blast his players again after the defeat on Saturday was hardly tactful and it seems like Barker is passing the blame to his players when he should be shouldering a fair amount of responsibility for his team's performances.
His popularity has taken a nosedive after the Scunthorpe thrashing and despite the dreaded "vote of confidence" from the chairman, a defeat to Stanley may see him act as if he has no other choice.
Defeating Stanley won't be easy, either. They've won three out of their last four away matches and have kept clean sheets in the last three. Their defence has been solid so could you honestly back this shot-shy Pompey attack to breach them?
People who went to Glanford Park said that Scunthorpe were a cut above most other teams in the division and so the defence that fell apart on Saturday shouldn't have as much trouble dealing with Accrington so long as they can get organised and aren't too demoralised.
This is Pompey's most important match of the season without question. Whilst Torquay and Northampton are currently seven points behind they both have a game in hand and the latter are improving under a manager who the board could have hired themselves. Wycombe also have a game in hand and are only two points behind having beaten Chesterfield on Saturday.
Not only would defeat damage Portsmouth's prospects of staying in the Football League, it would also have severe consequences on Barker, his team and those who support him. Many fans will lose faith completely (if they haven't already) should James Beattie and his men walk away from Fratton Park with victory tomorrow.
Lose this one at your peril, Pompey.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: Trevor CARSON
RB: Daniel ALFEI
CB: Sonny BRADLEY
CB: Ben CHORLEY
LB: Marcos PAINTER
RM: Jed WALLACE
CM: Toumani DIAGAROUGA
CM: Nicky SHOREY
LM: Wes FOGDEN
CF: Jake JERVIS
CF: Michael DRENNAN
Accrington
GK: Marcus BETTINELLI
RB: Nicky HUNT
CB: Tom ALDRED
CB: Dean WINNARD
LB: Michael LIDDLE
RM: Lee MOLYNEUX
CM: Peter MURPHY
CM: Luke JOYCE
LM: Piero MINGOIA
CF: Kai NAISMITH
CF: George BOWERMAN
Last Time: Portsmouth 4 Accrington Stanley 1 (FA Cup Fourth Round Replay - 28/01/1959)
Goals from Derek Weddle, Ron Newman and a brace from Ron Saunders saw a Pompey side managed by Freddie Cox canter to a win over Stanley in their only competitive match at Fratton Park to date.
My Prediction
The players owe us a performance after the Scunthorpe debacle and I think we'll win this by hook or crook. The consequences are absolutely dire if they fail again and it's not something any Pompey fan will want to think about.
Portsmouth 1 Accrington Stanley 0