Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley witnessed his side lose 5-3 to AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Trophy last night.
Cowley fielded a make-shift Portsmouth side last night. They travelled to League One rivals AFC Wimbledon but shipped in five goals – three of which coming in the final 10 minutes of the game – in their first game in Group 10 of the EFL Trophy.
Speaking to BBC reporter Andre Moon after the defeat, Cowley had this scathing message for his players:
#Pompey boss Danny Cowley…
“The boys that played tonight got some much needed minutes, I thought some of them looked really short of match practise and they need to do better if they want to play in the team”
— Andrew Moon (@mrandrewmoon) September 7, 2021
Pompey have now lost back-to-back compeitive matches for the first time since April.
They’ve started the new season in a positive vein after claiming 10 points from their opening five fixtures in League One, conceding just once in the process as Cowley finds his side in 6th-place.
After going their opening four games in the league without conceding, Portsmouth lost their last outing to 5th-place Wigan Athletic 1-0 and so last night’s performance will no doubt frustrate Cowley.
His side have proved so defensively shrewd up until last night. Five gals conceded against AFC Wimbledon who currently occupy 10th-place in the League One table but again, it was with a somewhat make-shift side and Cowley will be hoping that his regulars can return and put things right when they face MK Dons in League One this weekend.