'Leeds thought it would be an easy afternoon': Portsmouth boss applauds gutsy Elland Road point

The Blues feared an Elland Road thumping after the rampant hosts scored once and hit the bar three times during a blistering opening 10 minutes.

It was an uncomfortable baptism of fire for Mousinho’s men in their first match back in the Championship after 12 years in exile.

However, remarkably they fought back to twice take the lead against Leeds - and, ultimately, were denied an improbable 3-2 victory in the sixth minute of time added on.

And Pompey’s head coach paid tribute to his never-say-die team who came within a whisker of an opening-day shock.

Mousinho told The News: ‘It’s a brilliant point, particularly where we were sat here this time last week after a really poor week of football with the Wycombe, MK Dons and Charlton games.

‘It was just the polar opposite in terms of the performance. The lads gave everything and Leeds know they have been in a game, that’s the most important thing - and we’re gutted not to win.

‘We were really poor for the first 10 minutes, we put ourselves on the back foot, I don't think it was overly through anything that Leeds did brilliantly, we made a few really sloppy mistakes.

‘Giving away the free-kick, for example. Diving in on the edge of the box (Callum Lang), you’ve got players with that quality that will test you and, if they don’t put it into the back of the net, then it hits the bar (ilia Gruev).

‘Probably their first goal was the best thing which happened to us in a weird way because we just settled down. Leeds maybe thought it was going to be an easy afternoon and I wouldn't have blamed them after the opening.

‘But that settled us a bit, we decided that “Okay, we’re not going to play that badly for the rest of the match” and we came into the game really well in the first half.

‘I think, on balance, it was a really good point, Leeds probably deserved to win, they are an outstanding side, they have some outstanding individuals, so to go there and compete and come away disappointed not to win the game is good.’

Goals from debutant Elias Sorensen and Callum Lang ensured the Blues led 2-1 at the break, completely against the run of play.

Then, once Wilfried Gnonto levelled 56 seconds into the second half, Callum Lang netted his second from the penalty spot in the third minute of time added on to put the visitors 3-2 up.

Then substitute Brenden Aaronson bagged a leveller in the 96th minute of play to ensure a gripping match finished 3-3.

Mousinho added: ‘Our team and the squad have a huge amount of belief in themselves and we are trying to carry a lot of that from last season.

‘We have some good players in the dressing room and we have players that are more than capable of mixing at this level.

‘Hard work and commitment is a bare minimum. When we play any game at this level we must make sure we compete, make sure whenever a side comes off they know they’ve been in a game against us.’