Welcome Portsmouth's new lion-hearted hero - and John Mousinho on why he refused to substitute him
Hayden Matthews couldn’t leave the pitch unaided after the final whistle, with two members of Pompey’s staff required to help him off.
After injuring his right ankle having fallen awkwardly during a tackle against QPR, the Australian limped through the final eight minutes, albeit the majority of it spent as a makeshift centre-forward.
With John Mousinho having already used his full allocation of substitutes - and the lead still balanced precariously at 2-1 - it was decided Matthews would soldier on, rather than reduce the Blues to 10 men.
Certainly knowing Matthews’ character, Pompey’s head coach was adamant he could rely on the 20-year-old to dig in and fight to the end, irrespective of his injury.
And, considering the game situation at the time, Mousinho is convinced it was the correct decision as the Blues, ultimately, claimed another three points to move into 17th in the Championship.
He told The News: ‘I wasn’t surprised at all with Hayden’s willingness to say on the pitch, least of all because he didn’t have a choice when I told him to push up!
‘If there had been something where he couldn't continue, fine, he comes off and we play with 10 men - but he did a good enough job.
‘Anyone on the pitch there would have done the same thing, in terms of the lads we’ve got in the dressing room. I’m not thrilled that he’s injured, but the fact he didn’t give up and got on with it, it was great.
‘The only frustration was trying to get Hayden out of defence a lot sooner because he was back there and we had Marlon on the pitch. Get yourself up front and we can all drop in, that’s where you can do the least damage.
‘I don’t want to open him up with a channel ball considering how good QPR’s front four is. But he battled through it - and he battled through it brilliantly.’
QPR represented Matthews’ sixth appearance, consisting of three starts, since arriving from Sydney FC during the January transfer window.
The youngster has swiftly settled into life on the south coast and wasted no time in impressing the Fratton faithful with some encouraging early displays.
The extent of his ankle injury remains to be seen, with Matthews leaving Fratton Park on Saturday wearing a protective boot on his right leg and on crutches.
Those set-backs, coupled with Conor Shaughnessy sidelined until April with a hamstring problem and Tom McIntyre on loan at Charlton, leaves them once again light in the centre-half area.
Certainly Matthews has impressed the head coach following his £1.2m arrival during the final week of the transfer window.
Mousinho added: ‘With Hayden, I got a sense of his character really, really early on.
‘He’s a really top kid and character, the mentality and worth ethic with him was never going to be in question.’