'Right up there': Portsmouth boss John Mousinho praises Fratton faithful after Ipswich display - wants same again for Leicester visit
Tuesday night’s Pompey win against Ipswich Town had all the hallmarks of being a Fratton Park classic thanks to the performances on the pitch and the atmosphere generated by the fans in the stands.
John Mousinho ranked Pompey’s display in their 2-0 win against Ipswich Town on Tuesday night as the best he’d witnessed since arriving at Fratton Park in January 2023.
Now the Blues supporters have earned special praise from the head coach for their roll in a victory that took the PO4 side up to 19th in the Championship table and four points above the relegation zone with just four games left to play.
The atmosphere inside Fratton Park for the midweek game was electric from start to finish, with the fans doing their bit to raise the roof against the Tractor Boys and inspire the players.
And it certainly worked as both Conor Shaughnessy and Colby Bishop delivered the crucial breakthroughs right before the break to inflict a damaging defeat on Kieran McKenna’s automatic promotion hopefuls
Nearly exactly two years on from the famous Fratton Park victory against Barnsley that booked the Blues’ return to the Championship in 2024, Tuesday’s night’s result and the tone set in the stands will live long in the memory for the 18,061 home supporters in attendance.
It will certainly resonate for a long time with Mousinho, too, after he placed the atmosphere generated against Ipswich as being up there with anything he has ever experienced.
Mousinho: We fed off what we got
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s visit of second-from-bottom Leicester to PO4, Mousinho said the Fratton fans were at their hostile best against the Tracotr Boys.
And he called for the same again against the Foxes, as Pompey continue their attempt to secure their place in next season’s Championship.
‘The atmosphere (against Ipwich) was right up there,’ said Mousinho.
‘It's an incredibly hostile and difficult place to play when you come here as an opposition player, and I think we have to leverage that.
‘We've got to make sure we feed off that. We have to try and set the tempo as a team as well, which I think we did well.
‘We fed off what we got at the start of the game from the crowd, which was brilliant.
‘It was right up there in terms of atmospheres, not just here, but in terms of any football match I've been to. And it's come at the right time.
‘We had a brilliant atmosphere against Oxford, same again here. So, yes, we've got to keep going with that.
‘My message to the fans will be the more hostile we can make it and the more difficult we make it for the opposition to come in, it definitely has an effect on the players. We've seen that. It gives us that aggression, that intensity, that extra edge.
‘And we've got to do the same again the weekend. ‘
Victory against Leicester on Saturday would take the Blues to 51 points with just three games of the season remaining against Coventry (A), Stoke (A) and Birmingham City (H). A win would also mean the Foxes are unable to overtake Pompey in he standings.
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