Photo by Tom Worman

Pompey almost saw the wheels fall off their perfect season on Saturday against UWIC. The Cardiff based side have struggled at times to put a full team out this season; their visit to the south coast was their first game of the New year.

Despite all these pressures, for much of the game it was difficult to tell which of the sides had dominated the league all season.

There was little doubt from either side that the points would remain in Pompey, however the game held very little rhythm and Pompey were never allowed to build continuity into their game.

It took a goal of genuine class from Ben Endley to open the scoring, firing in from distance with a shot that was too hot for the Welsh side’s keeper to handle.

Although Pompey’s performance did improve over the course of the game, it was punctuated by individual errors. This match lacked much of the technical excellence that Pompey have come to expect over the course of their astonishing season.

What the match lacked in spectacle, it was made up for in physicality. Two fairly serious injuries to important Pompey players, along with numerous knocks and bruises will attest to the competitiveness that both sides showed.

As the game neared its close and the scoring tally began to build up, the men in purple’s complacency was exposed and punished by an excellent first league lacrosse goal from James Agger, the Pompey fresher loaned to the Welsh side for the day.

It is certainly a positive that Pompey can win despite not playing particularly well, however with important league and cup games in the pipeline, the lads will be looking to bring in more consistency to their performances.

In summary; to quote Leicester City manager Ian Holloway, ‘this victory may not have been the best looking lady but at least we took her home at the end of the night.’