06 February 2020

The good news: Portsmouth eventually get to play a game after 12 postponements; The bad news: they lost

Something quite unusual happened to Portsmouth last night - they actually played a match. Something they last did in December.

Bad luck has hampered the third tier side who have had 12 matches postponed due to bad pitch conditions.

They had last previously played at home against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup on December 8, but haven't played a league match at home since September in their 4-1 defeat to Oxford United.

Drainage issues at their home ground, PMC Stadium, have led to nine home matches being postponed so far this season. And to add insult to injury, three away games were also called off.

As a result the side have not played a league game since November 24, leaving them with six games in hand in the National League Southern Premier Division.

Manager Jay Sadler told the BBC the league aren't impressed with the postponements.

"The weather down on the south coast has been atrocious. It's very difficult. You can't help the weather but we do need to start getting these games on. The league obviously aren't too impressed.

"Prior to coming under the umbrella of the men's club in 2018, we played at 14 different home venues. Since having our home base, our attendances have grown, so we want to stay within the city of Portsmouth and have a central hub.

"But unfortunately now we're probably going to have to look elsewhere, because it is also affecting Baffins Milton. Between us we've got to play about 20 league games in around 15 weeks, plus cup ties."

The most recent postponement with Southampton this week came four days after a league match against Winchester was cancelled for a second time following a pitch inspection 24 hours before kick off.

Sadler said it's more of a surprise if the team turn up to a match and can actually play.

"It is a burden on fans. We want to build an attendance and having a solid set of games helps build the fanbase. It's very hard as the girls and the staff put all the effort in to train during the week and then all that planning goes out the window."

As it turned out, last night's rearranged game against neighbours Southampton in the League Cup didn't improve the mood as the home side lost 2-0.

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