Danny Cowley explains early substitution of Portsmouth man during EFL Trophy win | OneFootball

Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley says Joe Pigott was substituted early in his side’s EFL Trophy win over Aston Villa Under 21s on Tuesday due to the effects of an illness.

Pigott joined Portsmouth back in the summer transfer window, arriving on a season-long loan from League One rivals Ipswich Town, as part of a deal that saw Marcus Harness move the opposite way.

Since then, the striker has 11 appearances in all competitions for Cowley’s side, scoring twice and providing one assist in that time.

However, his latest outing came to a premature end last night, with Pigott substituted just 34 minutes into that 5-0 win in the EFL Trophy.

While the 28-year-old has not picked up an injury, it seems his early exit from the game was still down to a physical issue.

Providing an update on Pigott to Hampshire Live after the game, Cowley said: “We had these chest infections within the group leading up to the Ipswich game and he [Pigott] was just feeling the effects of that.”

“Joe [Pigott] wasn’t great on Monday, but was desperate to play and it’s nothing more sinister than that. We’re hoping he’ll be available for the weekend.”

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That game at the weekend sees Portsmouth return to League One action, when they host Fleetwood Town at Fratton Park, where they will be aiming to keep pace with Plymouth, Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday at the top of the third-tier table.

The Verdict

You can understand why Pigott may have been keen to play in this one, despite the issues he was facing.

The striker hasn’t quite hit top form in terms of goals for Portsmouth this season, and this would have been an opportunity for him to pick up some confidence and momentum, as evidenced by the final score.

It will therefore no doubt have been frustrating for Pigott to have come off, especially with his the man who replaced him, Josh Koroma, getting a brace after coming on.

Even so, there is no sense in making things worse than they are if not neccessary, so it was probably the right decision for Pompey to take the striker off when they did.