Portsmouth boss on why 'exceptional' Colby Bishop's worth shouldn't be judged purely on goals
The long-serving Fratton Park striker has scored three goals in 28 games this season
Colby Bishop’s agonising Championship goal drought is finally over a few days short of six months.
Nonetheless, John Mousinho is adamant the 29-year-old’s ‘more important’ role these days is not primarily scoring himself, but aiding others in attacking situations.
And he is adamant the Blues’ long-serving striker has been ‘brilliant’ since the turn of the year, irrespective of his goal shortage.
Bishop’s successful first-half penalty in the 3-1 win over Charlton represented his third of the season - and his first since the third league game at West Brom.
In between that barren period, there was, of course, a strike against Arsenal in last month’s FA Cup, yet, in terms of Championship action, the previous occasion was August 23 at the Hawthorns.
But, for Mousinho, goals aren’t the only currency when assessing the effectiveness of the former Accrington man.
‘It’s what he does everywhere else’
The Blues head coach told The News: ‘If you look at the amount of goals conceded, we have been pretty good, we’re in a good spot defensively. One of the big things that has been missing is we haven't been scoring enough goals.
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‘That’s an area we have looked to improve upon. My big take with Colby is I love it when he scores, he wants to score, I am a massive fan of trying to create a bit more for him - but the more important part of his game is what he does everywhere else.
‘When he knits everything together he creates a huge amount, particularly for the number 10 and two wingers. Occupying centre-halves is a massive part of the way we want to play.
‘I think goals will come off the back end of that, but Colby’s performances - taking away the goals over the past few weeks - have been exceptional.
‘He has been brilliant since the turn of the year. There was that spell out around Christmas with the knock he took to the top of his foot. He was ready for Ipswich that was called off the first time, then played against Arsenal.
‘If you look at the performances off the back of that, Colby was very good against Watford, very good against Southampton. He was extremely good against West Brom without scoring, only to twist his ankle and, thankfully, missed just one game.
‘Then he came back in and provided that real physical threat up top. Even against a very, very physically dominant centre-half, such as Charlton’s Lloyd Jones, he gave a huge amount of problems.’
Pompey leading scorer for three successive seasons
While Bishop last season finished as Pompey’s leading scorer for a third successive season with 11 goals in 32 appearances, it has been a struggle this term.
He has totalled three from 28 appearances, of which 26 have been starts, in a hugely disappointing return which has drawn criticism from sections of the Fratton faithful.
In addition, a penalty miss against Norwich in August, represented the fourth time he had failed from the spot in 10 attempts.
Yet Bishop subsequently made no mistake against Charlton on Tuesday night, when Gustavo Caballero’s right-wing cross was handled by Amari’i Bell to earn Pompey a 35th-minute spot kick.
‘A lot of pressure’
Mousinho added: ‘We hadn't spoken about who would take it, it was one that I don’t mind leaving to the players. In the moment, there’s always the chance that, for whatever reason, a player may not want to take the penalty.
‘So fair play to Colby and the fact he stepped up. On the pitch at the time, he’s the player we would expect to take it - and put the ball into the back of the net under a lot of pressure.
‘It was also a long, long time in between when the penalty was given and taken. He stood over the ball for a long time before the referee blew his whistle and, thankfully, slotted it away. I was delighted for Colby.’