Preview | Portsmouth (A)

28 February 2020

Portsmouth v Rochdale AFC | Fratton Park, Sky Bet League One, Friday 28th February 2020, 7.45pm Kick-Off

Dale make the long journey to the south coast to face Portsmouth on Friday evening.

Kenny Jackett's side sit fifth in the League One table, just five points off the top.

Brian Barry-Murphy will be hoping his side can upset the odds at Fratton Park, against a side who are unbeaten at home in the league so far.

PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW

Barry-Murphy says it will be a tough but brilliant game for his side on Friday. Click HERE to read what he had to say on the game, and HERE to read what he had to say on his side's style of play this season.

OPPOSITION VIEW

"They have some really good players in their squad and I’m sure they’ll lift their game coming to Fratton Park," said Jackett ahead of the game.

ADMISSION DETAILS

Dale fans who didn't purchase a ticket in advance are advised not to travel as there will be no sales on the day to away fans at Fratton Park.

FRATTON PARK

Portsmouth have provided supporters with a First Time Fan guide, which can be downloaded HERE.

REF WATCH

Referee | Nicholas Kinseley

Assistant Referees | Anthony Da Costa & David Benton

Fourth Official | Scott Jackson

MATCH ODDS

Sky Bet are offering odds of 13/2 for a Dale win on Friday.

Click HERE for the full betting preview.

HEAD TO HEAD

Portsmouth	Draw	Dale
9	2	1

WE’VE GOT IT COVERED

Fans in the UK can WATCH Friday's game live on iFollow Dale for just £10!

Click HERE to purchase your one-off match pass now. The game is also available to overseas supporters, as usual, for £5.

To watch live via your desktop, click on the 'iFollow' tab on our navigation bar. Hover over the 'More' tab and more selections will appear, which is where the 'iFollow' tab is located. Once you’ve clicked through, a link will appear on the left-hand side of the page for you to access the commentary. This will appear on the site around half an hour before kick-off.

We will be tweeting live updates throughout the match on Twitter, and follow our behind-the-scenes content on our Instagram story (@officiallydale).

Match Previews

Match Reports

Report | Portsmouth 3-0 Dale

28 February 2020

Dale were beaten on Friday night, losing 3-0 to Kenny Jackett’s Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

Goals from Ryan Williams, Steve Seddon and Christian Burgess secured all three points for the home-side which sees them move up to third place in Sky Bet League One.

Brian Barry-Murphy made four changes from the side that lost at home to Coventry City last time out.

Aaron Morley, Aaron Wilbraham, MJ Williams and Jim McNulty came in for Jimmy Ryan, Stephen Dooley, Kwadwo Baah and Eoghan O’Connell.

Dale started brightly and on the front foot, with Matty Lund’s strike from distance going just wide.

Portsmouth went close themselves when Ryan Williams’ attempted cross looped over Sánchez but landed wide.

Ian Henderson then broke clear of the Pompey defence and attempted to lob the ball over Alex Bass, but he couldn’t get the elevation on it and it was easy for Bass to gather.

Morley tried his luck from range, but it was comfortably held by Bass with the ball heading for the top corner.

Dale capitalised on a loose ball and pushed men forward to try and break the deadlock with Rhys Norrington-Davies firing a ball across the face of goal which was held by Bass.

The home side opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time when Sean Raggett met a free-kick from the right, which was saved by Sánchez before Williams lashed the ball home from close range.

Their lead was nearly doubled a minute later when former Dale man Andy Cannon struck the foot of the post.

Into the second half, Henderson tried a speculative effort from range which cannoned back out off the crossbar with Bass beaten.

Dale had another chance to get back on level terms, when Jimmy Keohane’s floated cross was met by Lund who powered a header towards goal but was denied by an excellent save from Bass.

The hosts got their second when substitute Steve Seddon fired in a low drive from outside the area.

Portsmouth sealed the win with five minutes left, Burgess heading in from a Seddon free-kick.

The result was harsh on Dale who defended well and played some good football throughout.

Barry-Murphy’s men are next in action next Saturday when they host table-topping Rotherham United at the Crown Oil Arena.

Ticket details for that match are available HERE.

Standings