Oxford United 0 Portsmouth 1: Neil Allen's verdict - Back to a happy hunting ground as Fratton favourite's form reignites
Pompey’s Championship season kicked off with an opening day win at Oxford United
Callum Lang’s tempestuous love affair has reignited, the relationship which once descended into career toxicity is thankfully back on track.
The Kassam Stadium has signalled dazzling highs and gut-wrenching lows over the popular attacker’s 18 months at Fratton Park.
It was where he staged his stunning Blues entrance, with a debut goal and assist in January 2024 following recruitment from Wigan designed to rubber stamp the League One title. How that transfer succeeded.
Last term, the attacker returned to Oxford United’s home basking in the Championship form of his life, while galloping away with the top-scorer mantle, until his hamstring cruelly snapped in full flight.
Despite returning ahead of schedule for the final three matches, the abrupt severing of that sparkling form meant Lang wasn’t the same player, perhaps understandably.
On Saturday, however, all was forgiven as OX4 proved to be a wonderful muse once more, back to being a happy hunting ground, with the passionate reunion inspiring Lang to once again soar great heights.
Didn’t seize the headlines but ran the show
Debutant Adrian Segecic may have seized the headlines as the matchwinner in the 1-0 success over the U’s on the opening day of the Championship season.
Nonetheless, Lang ran the show, conjuring up his finest Blues display since the day after Valentine’s Day, when he sustained a Kassam Stadium hamstring tear which would continue to nag away even during pre-season.
The 26-year-old was absolutely unplayable on Saturday, with his energy, drive and marvellous movement delivering a performance of the highest calibre. How Oxford wilted as he ran them ragged.
From the moment he tore down the right flank with two minutes on the clock and somehow managed to dig out an improbable cross at the end of it, it was clear this would be the day the Scouser would rediscover his mojo.
Incidentally, that delivery should have earned him an assist, yet debutant Florian Bianchini’s far post header was dreadful, despite the quality of the ball having rendered goalkeeper Jamie Cumming a non-participant.
This was Lang at his impish best, reminiscent of his showing in the first half of last season when he carried a struggling side on his shoulders and appeared destined to become the latest recipient of player of the season honours.
This is a player who, should he stay fit, will ensure the Blues survive considerably more comfortably this season. As a genuine Championship performer, Lang remaining injury-free is pivotal to John Mousinho’s ambition.
His importance was reflected last month, with Pompey adamant the former Wigan man was going nowhere following claims of a £2m bid from Preston to return him closer to his Liverpool home.
Except this season, Lang is not alone in his tireless attempts to keep the club in the Championship. Now he has Segecic for company - and, on Saturday, the pair teamed up to destroy Oxford.
Intriguingly, Mousinho has moved Lang out to the right wing to accommodate the Australian in the number 10 position, thereby finding a way to squeeze both into his team and adding a fresh dynamism.
Brings a new dimension to Matt Ritchie’s right-wing role
Unquestionably, Pompey’s squad is weaker without Matt Ritchie’s talents, who scored some crucial goals in last term’s successful survival bid and brilliantly led the press with his drive and leadership.
Yet with Lang instead positioned on the right wing at Oxford, he provided the pace and mobility to charge upfield on a counter-attack when away from home, swiftly removing danger and posing more problems in the opposition half.
That ability to hit sides on the break, rather than an over-reliance on Josh Murphy on the left flank, created a new dimension and, especially in the first half, won countless corners for the Blues with many of his team-mates still in their own half.
Admittedly, on this occasion, Murphy was missing through a hamstring strain, with Bianchini handed the left-wing berth, yet, in the absence of Pompey’s best attacking player, Lang, as ever, assumed responsibility.
Indeed, Bianchini should have capped his debut with a goal on 21 minutes, when a delightful move involving Colby Bishop and Segecic saw Lang, ultimately, roll the ball into the path of the Frenchman.
However, he wastefully fired a weak first-time right-footed shot straight at the keeper. In a match of few opportunities, it was a glaring miss.
The game’s decisive moment
Still, Lang wasn’t actually involved in the game’s decisive moment, instead it was Cameron Brannagan, whose inexplicably poor back pass from the opposition half was pounced upon by Bishop.
The striker was meant to be absent for up to three weeks with a groin injury, according to Mousinho in the build up, yet miraculously he was able to lead the line, skippering the side and having a hand in the goal.
Although his one-on-one was stopped by Cumming, Segecic followed up from the edge of the box to strike a first-time finish into the empty net and make it 1-0.
Pompey’s season is already up and running with a first opening-day win since at Fleetwood in August 2020, when Lee Brown struck the winner.
Achieved without Murphy, and with Lang and Segecic installed as an irresistible new combination, there is every chance Mousinho’s Pompey evolution tantalisingly still has plenty more room for progression.