Pompey 1 Luton 0: Neil Allen's match ratings
Neil Allen provides his ratings after Pompey started 2017 with a 1-0 victory against Luton.
It was an important success for Paul Cook’s side who are now four points off a top-three place...
Pompey
David Forde - Reliable performance 7
Gareth Evans - Tireless showing 7
Christian Burgess - Tower of strength 8
Matt Clarke - Absolutely immense 9
Enda Stevens - Solid display 7
Michael Doyle - Didn’t give an inch 7
Danny Rose (84 mins Amine Linganzi) - Snapped away 7
Carl Baker (80 mins Noel Hunt) - Another dead-ball assist 8
Kal Naismith - So dangerous at present 8
Kyle Bennett (68 mins Gary Roberts - Spot kick agony 5) - Gave his all 7
Michael Smith - Gave everything he had 7
Subs Not Used; Liam O’Brien, Milan Lalkovic, Jack Whatmough, Conor Chaplin.
Luton
Christian Walton - Couldn’t be faulted 7
Stephen O’Donnell - Gave away decisive free-kick 6
Johnny Mullins - Defended okay 6
Scott Cuthbert - Rock solid 9
James Justin - Did well 7
Glen Rea - Couldn’t impose himself 5
Alex Gilliead (54 mins Olly Lee - Got away with penalty mistake 6) - Barely noticeable 6
Jonathan Smith - Covered so much ground 7
Cameron McGeehan (20 mins Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu - Settled in well 7)
Jordan Cook (54 mins Isaac Vassell - Pepped team up 7)
Danny Hylton - So much heart 8
Subs Not Used; Craig King, Jack Marriott, Jack Senior, Josh McQuoid.
Attendance; 17,402 (1,547 away)
Referee; Tim Robinson (West Sussex) - Got the big decisions rights 8
Man of the match; Matt Clarke - Dominant figure at the back and a massive presence during some testing times defensively during the second half.
We Want Him; Scott Cuthbert - Stood firm for Luton throughout, winning everything in the air and ruled on the ground.
We Don’t Want Him; Glen Rea - Given the job of sitting in front of the back four, yet he couldn’t stem the flow of Pompey during the first half as the hosts dominated.
Magic Moment: A hard-fought contest was settled by Carl Baker’s quality from dead balls, his 31st minute delivery headed home by Christian Burgess.
Their Manager: Nathan Jones - After dominated in the first half, his side were a different proposition once changing to wing-backs but couldn’t find that equaliser.