[Exile on Spencer St]

Professor Coleman's summary was spot on.
The Ref was frightened of the crowd but Stanley didn't do themselves any favours.
They put themselves under pressure every time the keeper rolls the ball out to one of the back four. In every League match I've seen this year the opposition have twigged that (1) this what Stanley will do, and (2) Stanley are not, despite what we'd all like to believe, Barcelona in disguise.
Consequently they harry Stanley's defence from the penalty area knowing that, often as not, they'll get the ball back from a misplaced pass by the half-way line.
Pompey looked better organised. Their first goal was 'worked', not just made up. They seemed to know where their team mates were and, more importantly, were they were going to be. They anticipated better, used the full width of the park, put forward balls into space for team mates to run onto, and backed each other up to get out of corners. But they weren't brilliant.
Stanley continue to play a constricted, complex passing game often with little forward movement. A couple of times in the first half Husin played what looked like aimless balls down the wing to no-one, but the problem was he was obviously thinking someone would carry on running forward, into the space behind their defence. Too often Stanley appear static, passing balls and then standing still, watching as a team mate has to beat two men before anyone makes themselves available for a return pass. Or standing waiting for a ball to come or drop to them, only for the opposition to get to the ball first by moving to it.
In the second half the substitutions made a difference and Clarke especially made good use of the space down the right wing. For a 25 minute period Stanley were on top, and Pompey players and fans were increasingly nervous that the one goal would not be enough. This was Stanley's best period, but other than a goal-mouth scramble that was too far away to see, and an obvious trip on Billy Kee that was beyond the courage of the ref to give, they didn't really threaten the Pompey goal to the extent that Stanley's goal was under siege in the opening 15 minutes.
The only consolation was that it wasn't as bad as Cheltenham. But, with games against most of the top teams over the next couple of months, that final game of the season at Satanage is starting look even more ominous than it did back in August.