Reflecting on Ipswich defeat

In our position, or will be position when the 10pts - assuming it is just 10pts? - is docked as a result of administration - again assuming this application is not blocked? - home defeat against Ipswich was not something we could afford really was it?

Although this was what we got...

We did not play well and Appy, as he told The Pompey Site, knows this as well as you and I do.

In the 1st half we were very poor and that is what ultimately finished us off.

Was it a case of tiredness, well perhaps so but Appy concedes we probably got what we deserved: 'I don't know if it was a matter of playing two tough away games recently with the same team, but I didn't see the first half performance coming. We never got going.

'If you start the game properly you tend to carry that through the 90 minutes, and we didn't start properly. They looked fresher and sharper than us in the first half.

'The second half was much better. We played on the front foot.

'But did we do enough to get something out of the game, if we really look deep down at ourselves? Probably not. It was a night where it didn't really happen for us.'

Again an honest assessment from Appy, and you cannot ask for more really.

Like I say we did not play well, I think we can all agree on that and perhaps it was tiredness setting into the small squad we have - three tough games in a week, including two away to a couple of very good championship outfits probably took a lot out of us?

The problem is our problems could be worse come the weekend as Liam Lawrence and Greg Halford, who both limped out of the game, are unlikely to be fit: 'I'm asking a lot of the players we've got, and now we've got two more injured with Liam and Greg, on top of David Norris and Luke Varney.

'We'll have to get our thinking caps on for putting out a side at Barnsley.

'We've got 16 games to make sure we try to stay up. But what we've got to do is be very careful we have enough players to fulfil fixtures.

'I was so disappointed for the fans because it would have been nice to get something out of the game for them. It's a bit hard to take at the moment.'

One thing that certainly did go against us was the disallowed goal. I have not seen any replays but at the time I was sure that it had hit someone and gone in from Halford's throw?

The ref said no and ruled it out as going in direct from his long thrown-in.

Appy, like me, thought it was a goal 'right away' and with the benefit of a replay he thinks he can call it as being one that got away: 'I was very disappointed with the disallowed goal, and I hope the referee is disappointed as well with the decision he made.

'I thought it was a goal right away, because the ball changed angles and went into the back of the net. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas kneed the ball into his own goal and the replays confirmed that.'

Not too many positives can be taken from this game really. Although the crowd were brilliant - the best I have seen and heard Fratton in a while, so that is one. Another, I guess, is that it was only 1-0 so our goal difference did not take a battering, had it been 3 or 4-0, as it could have been, that would have been a massive blow!

The thing that we quickly have to do is put this behind us and move on I guess...

Barnsley will be another tough ask this weekend but it is imperative that we dig in and try our utmost to come away from Oakwell with a point at least - our Fratton games are 'probably' going to determine if we stay up or not this season, provided its only a 10pts penalty, so losing the first of our 'cup finals' is a setback but not completely terminal yet. Getting bits and pieces away from home will make a world of difference.

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