‘We were screaming’: Sky Sports pundit makes brutal Portsmouth claim after Derby County frustrations
Pompey fell to a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Derby County on Monday evening.
Sky Sports pundit Curtis Davies has slammed Pompey’s attacking threat during their defeat to Derby County.
And the former defender is adamant John Mousinho’s men didn’t do enough to test the Rams in the close stages of Monday’s loss.
The Blues’ frustrations continued under the lights at Fratton Park, with John Mousinho’s men falling to a 1-0 defeat to John Eustace’s play-off chasing outfit.
But the stats didn’t paint the entire picture, with Mousinho’s troops unable to properly test 37-year-old Richard O’Donnell, who made just his third Championship start of the season in goal for Derby.
Indeed, Davies, who enjoyed a successful six-year stay at Pride Park, was far from impressed with Pompey’s forward play and set-piece threat - insisting the Blues didn’t do enough to cause the visitor’s issues.
And the Sky Sports pundit is adamant the stats didn’t paint the full picture as Mousinho’s men fell to their fourth home defeat in succession.
Sky Sports pundit slams Pompey’s attacking frustrations
Speaking on Sky Sports after the defeat, Davies said: ‘If you look at the stats. They had the most shots with 27, they had the most shots on target with nine but these are the shots from 25-yards out. If you put me in goal, I could’ve saved most of these.
‘I think that’s the thing, it creates an xG and the performance analysis that you look at and think ‘we’ve not played too bad.’ But I don’t really feel Derby were ever in trouble.
‘They were never really opened up. It was sort of long shots.
‘It has to (improve in front of goal). We spoke before the game, the fact your right-back is your second top scorer and your top scorer is on the bench, kind of sums it up right now. They’re going to have to find goals in different ways.
‘They weren’t willing to put the balls into the box, we were screaming for it. There’s been a corner, second phase put it back in the box - you’ve got your centre halves up. But they’re trying to play 100 passes. That’s what I think was wrong.
‘John’s (Mousinho) speaking about controlling the game, I’m happy as a defender that the other team controls the game as much as they want, but if they aren’t putting it in the box, they aren’t scaring me and I’d take the 1-0 and leave.
‘What you need to do, when you’ve goy Colby Bishop on the pitch with Jacob Brown, put balls into the box and make Derby think about what they’re doing - rather than making it easier for them by playing 100 passes around and giving the ball away.’