Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley reveals why Marcus Harness' team-mates bailed him out against Accrington - with winger now set to miss Crewe, Ipswich and Plymouth games
Danny Cowley admitted Pompey’s dressing room camaraderie was in full display against Accrington as Marcus Harness’ team-mates bailed him out of a ‘difficult moment’.
The Pompey forward was sent off for the first time in his career on 21 minutes against Accy.
He produced a rash challenge from behind on the visitors’ Ross Sykes with 69 minutes of the game still to be played.
It was a clear act of petulance from the Republic of Ireland man as he reacted to not being handed a foul just seconds before.
But rather than lock horns with Harness for the position he had put the team in, Cowley admitted his players had their pal’s back.
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The Blues boss admitted referee Carl Brook had no other choice but to send the Blues’ top scorer off.
Yet, he added the 11-goal ace deserved recognition for his performances all season for the club – and that was a sentiment his whole squad clearly agreed with.
When asked about the incident, Cowley told BBC Solent: ‘I’ve obviously watched it (the send off incident) back.
‘It’s a big foul initially and Marcus has reacted in a way that he’ll be disappointed.
‘But as I said to the players at half-time, he’s been brilliant for us this season.
‘In so many games he’s been able to help us win and real good team-mates – when their friend is in trouble and in a difficult moment – they bail him out.
‘And I thought they had his back today with that second-half performance.’
Pompey were 1-0 up at the time thanks to George Hirst’s 16th-minute opener.
And despite being reduced to 10 men with more than a quarter of the game remaining, they somehow managed to bag three further goals to run out convincing winners.
Sean Raggett doubled the Blues’ advantage on 28 minutes, before a second from Hirst approaching the hour mark and a Ryan Tunnicliffe strike with 69 minutes on the clock completed the rout.
Harness will now miss Pompey’s next three games, starting with the midweek trip to Crewe on Tuesday night.