Pompey 1 Chelsea 2: Match ratings
Chief sports writer Neil Allen runs the rule over last night's Checkatrade Trophy clash with Chelsea under-21s.
• Pompey
Luke McGee – Beaten by excellent free–kick 7
Nathan Thompson (Kal Naismith, 53min – Great to see him back 6) – Injury concern 7
Christian Burgess – Coped well with Chelsea 7
Matt Clarke – A class above once more 9
Dion Donohue – Another good display 7
Ben Close – Didn’t see out game after injury 7
Adam May – Got stronger as match wore on 7
Jamal Lowe – Had to drop to right–back 7
Connor Ronan (Conor Chaplin, 76min) – Very, very encouraging debut 7
Matty Kennedy – Lively and laid on assist 8
Oli Hawkins (Brett Pitman, 53min – Again showed goal–scoring quality 8) – Put himself about 7
Subs not used: Alex Bass, Kyle Bennett, Sylvain Deslandes, Theo Widdrington
• Chelsea
Marcin Bulka – Good first–half saves 8
Dujon Sterling – Did nothing wrong 7
Trevoh Chalobah – Solid presence 7
Ethan Ampadu – So calm 8
Josh Grant (Joseph Colley, 83min) – Solid figure 7
Jacob Maddox (Daishawn Redan, 28min – So, so 6) – Early withdrawal 6
Ruben Sammut – Never really caught the eye 6
Kyle Scott (Luke McCormick, 87min) – Always involved 8
Charly Musonda – Remember the name 9
Harvey St Clair – Flitted in and out 7
Callum Hudson–Odoi – Powerful running 7
Subs not used: Jamie Cumming, Isaac Christie–Davies, Kylian Hazard, Cole Dasilva.
• Referee: Gavin Ward – No interest in a number of penalty appeals 6
• Attendance: 3,116 (113 away fans)
• Man of the match: Matt Clarke – Once again the outstanding young centre–half demonstrated his class, this time against Chelsea’s starlets in front of a host of scouts and Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe.
• We want him: Charly Musonda – Magnificent two–goal display from a player highly–regarded by Chelsea and clearly for very good reason.
• He’s all yours: Ruben Sammut – Didn’t raise the pulse with his display in the midfield area and while team–mates shone, he failed to catch the eye.
• Magic moment: Pompey grabbed a stoppage–time leveller out of absolutely nowhere when Brett Pitman steered Kennedy’s cross into the net – but still lost.
• Their manager: Joe Edwards – Side were second best to Pompey during the opening 45 minutes, but had the quality to step up the display and claim victory.