Portsmouth maintained their perfect pre-season record with a dominant 5-0 triumph away to Farnborough, extending their winning run with an impressive attacking display at Cherrywood Road.
Zak Swanson’s first-half strike had given the Blues a slender advantage at the interval against National League South opposition who posed their own threats. However, Portsmouth’s quality shone through after the restart, as Harry Clout, Marlon Pack, Thomas Waddingham and Josh Murphy all found the net to seal a comprehensive victory.
Manager John Mousinho again opted to field completely different starting elevens in each half against the non-league side at Cherrywood Road. Goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid made his first appearance of the summer between the posts, whilst Regan Poole donned the captain’s armband for the opening 45 minutes.
Academy prospects Beau Mullins, Fraser Thomas and Chinedu Agu were all handed starts, with Michael Ani introduced following the interval.
The hosts made the livelier start to proceedings, with Rakish Bingham’s ambitious long-range attempt rattling the crossbar. Luciano D’Auria-Henry then teed up Dom Poleon, whose low drive was deflected wide of the upright.
Portsmouth broke the deadlock on 14 minutes through excellent work from their youngsters. Thomas and Agu combined effectively before the latter picked out Swanson, who calmly rounded goalkeeper Jack Turner before slotting into the unguarded net.
Thomas nearly created another opportunity for teenage colleague Mullins, threading a pass through the defence, but the youngster was dispossessed just as he prepared to shoot.
Farnborough continued to pose problems, with Schmid forced to stand firm when Poleon attempted to round him. The hosts also threatened from dead-ball situations, with one set-piece leading to a header from Aaron Kuhl – son of former Portsmouth captain Martin – that was comfortably saved by Pompey‘s custodian.
Recently turned professional Clout was amongst the 11 players introduced for the second period and immediately fired an effort straight at Turner. After some scrambled defending from the Blues, they doubled their advantage just past the hour mark when Clout exchanged passes with Segečić before finding the bottom corner.
Farnborough’s response was swift, but they soon found themselves further adrift when Pack curled home a superb free-kick from 25 yards out. Portsmouth continued pressing forward, though Waddingham was unable to convert when Connor Ogilvie’s header fell kindly for him.
The Australian striker made amends on 78 minutes, with Waddingham firing a shot that cannoned off the inside of the post before crossing the line. There was no let-up from the visitors, and Murphy soon added the fifth, cutting infield from the left flank before curling a delightful finish into the far corner.
Farnborough nearly grabbed a late consolation from a corner kick, but Jordan Archer reacted smartly to preserve his clean sheet with a low save.
Sophie Quirk Departs Pompey Women
Farnborough (3-1-4-2): Turner; Byrd, Robinson (c), Trialist G; Kuhl; D’Auria-Henry, Clifford, Trialist B, Greenwood; Bingham, Poleon
Subs: Trialist J, Fried-Jones, Bradshaw, Bloomfield, Trialist A, Trialist C, Trialist D, Trialist E, Trialist F, Trialist H, Trialist I, Trialist K
Pompey first half (4-1-4-1): Schmid; Williams, Poole (c), Shaughnessy, Farrell; Swanson; Lane, Thomas, Dozzell, Mullins; Agu
Pompey second half (4-2-3-1): Archer; Ani, Matthews, Trialist, Ogilvie; Pack (c), Devlin; Clout, Segečić, Murphy; Waddingham
Pompey goals: Swanson 14, Clout 62, Pack 71, Waddingham 78, Murphy 82
Referee: Dean Treleaven
Attendance: 2,897
