Portsmouth FC: John Mousinho points out grim reality of Derby County drubbing | OneFootball

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho admitted his side were well beaten at Derby County on Friday night.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho admitted they got ‘everything wrong’ in their 4-0 defeat at Derby County on Friday night.

Pompey made the trip to Pride Park on the back of a four-game unbeaten run that had seen them move out of the relegation zone.

However, they couldn’t build on that against the Rams, as goals from Kane Wilson, Eiran Cashin and Ebou Adams put the hosts three up inside half an hour.

A Marlon Pack own goal in the second half compounded what was a very difficult evening for Portsmouth, who were second best from the first whistle.

John Mousinho makes Portsmouth admission after Derby County thrashing

And, to his credit, Mousinho didn’t try to hide from that when he assessed the game, as he told the Portsmouth News that both he and the players were not at the level required, as he acknowledged they could’ve lost by more than four.

“It wasn’t very good to say the least, we got exactly what we deserved and maybe got off slightly lightly. The start was really poor. We didn’t start on the front foot, we invited too much pressure. There was a chance early on just to let the ball run through to the goalkeeper, which we didn’t do, and off the back of that Derby had a couple of chances, a couple of corners, a couple of free-kicks.

“We started settling into the game when it was 1-0 down, but then conceded from a set-piece. It was a strange first half because it didn’t feel like wave after wave of attack from Derby, but it did feel like every time they ran forward they scored.

“The second half was the reverse, wave after wave of attack but Derby didn’t score quite as many and we didn’t have any control of the game or any meaningful possession whatsoever.

“The most disappointing thing is we seemed to get everything wrong. That was tactically as staff. But you can always mask that if you are brave and you win your individual battles, win second balls, defend corners properly, defend your box properly - and we just didn’t do any of that.”

Portsmouth must not dwell on Derby County defeat

There were no positives for Pompey to take last night, and the performance was alarming, as they were nowhere near good enough.

But, it’s important that Portsmouth don’t overreact, as it was just one game, and they had improved in recent weeks, picking up eight points from the previous four games.

So, Mousinho won’t lose his head over one game, even if he knows that Pompey can’t let their standards drop to that level once again.

During his time in charge, the Pompey players have shown plenty of character, and it’s about bouncing back and reacting in the right way.