Portsmouth manager John Mousinho praised his team for delivering their best 45 minutes of the season after they drew 1-1 at Hull – but criticised the officiating.
Hull were booed off by a section of their fans after bottom side Portsmouth’s much-improved second-half showing including Josh Murphy’s deflected strike to equalise.
Portsmouth were denied a first-half penalty when Callum Lang was challenged by Xavier Simons – and then again in the second period when Kusini Yengi was met by Charlie Hughes. The Portsmouth manager also felt Hughes should have been sent off in a separate incident.
Mousinho said: “I think it was our best 45 minutes by a long way so far this season. We were a bit more aggressive in the second half, a bit more front-footed.
“Even after scoring the goal we still stayed on the front foot and didn’t drop off. What it took was a bit more bravery and athleticism.
“There’s a big expectation here (from the home fans) when a side bottom of the league comes to a side like Hull, especially when you go a goal up early. Probably a lot of people in the stadium might have thought that might have been it. We didn’t think that, we didn’t believe it.
“We showed when we do things right we are definitely at the level.”
On the officiating, Mousinho said: “They were two penalties. We have seen them back. The first one on Callum Lang, the defender just takes his legs out from underneath him. 99.9 per cent of the time the one on Kusini Yengi is also given, and 100 per cent of the time outside the box.
“I’ll go and speak to the referee and try to get his thinking. The other big decision was what I thought was a red card as well for Charlie Hughes, not for the penalty incident but for dragging Matt Ritchie down when he is through on goal in the second half.”
Hull manager Tim Walter started with Joao Pedro, who scored his first goal for the club, before his men lost their way and the team were booed off at full-time.
Walter said: “I think everybody is frustrated. I can understand. We played a really good first half but the problem was that we did not score the second.
“The players are human and it can happen that you really try to play forward but you lose in some critical situations.
“We need to stick together. We want to do better. All we want to do is create a good mood, a good family. It’s not always possible.
“We need our fans so much. Sometimes it’s not possible and they have to understand. I could not understand it sometimes as well. But they are all humans and they want to do it better. We can learn out of this situation and these mistakes.
“Together everything is easier – that’s what I said to my boys. We behave as a team and as a family and then everything is easier. That’s what we need and therefore we need our fans as well.
“To be honest it feels like a defeat. We wanted to do better but unfortunately we couldn’t in the second half.”
On the officiating he said: “We had in the last few games a lot of situations that were not on our side so maybe we were a bit lucky today.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
