Portsmouth vs Charlton: A Game Played with the Handbrake On

This was a game played with the handbrake on.

One goal always felt like it would be enough, and both Portsmouth and Charlton carried that knowledge like a weight. The tension was there, the quality in the final third was not. What the contest really exposed was the attacking ceiling of both sides.

Charlton arrived with a clear plan: let Portsmouth have the ball, then try to hurt them on the break. It made sense. Pompey have struggled all season when teams spring forward quickly, and Charlton tried to lean hard into that weakness. Still, it’s rare to see an away side so openly uninterested in dictating possession.

The game’s big moment should have belonged to Milli Alli. Back at Fratton Park, he took plenty of stick from the travelling support despite having done a decent job here during his loan spell. Then came the chance. A far-post volley, begging to be buried. He somehow put it away, and only he will understand how that slipped by.

At the other end, Portsmouth at least looked secure. Conor Shaughnessy anchored things with authority, Benji Arthur alongside him equally assured. Between them they gave Charlton almost nothing to feed on, snuffing out the very counters the visitors had come to rely on.

That defensive platform is a start. But if Pompey are serious about climbing the table, they cannot live on solidity alone. The back line looks ready. The attack still needs a spark.