Portsmouth Draw A Fair Result

Manager Alan Knill did allow himself a moment of ‘I wonder’ when he saw Jordan Chappell give Torquay a one goal advantage in this weekend’s game against Portsmouth within the first 60 seconds, but by the end of the 90 minutes – even though they only equalised with nine minutes left in the game – Knill admits that on reflection a share of the points was probably the fairer result.

Despite the tinge of disappointment that we couldn’t hold on for all three points, Knill told the Official Site following the game that he was extremely proud of the players for the efforts and their performance on the day.

Unfortunately the second half injury to striker Paul McCallum proved pivotal as Torquay had to shuffle things around, and we weren’t quite as at it following his departure with 15 or so minutes remaining.

‘It was a long time to be at one nil but it was a great start. We knew it would be a tough game when Portsmouth are coming here but when you’re in our current position, everyone calls it a dogfight, so the first thing you have to do is fight. We did that really well, but I would say a draw was probably a fair result.’

Knill admits that the players were disappointed that they couldn’t hold out for the maximum return, especially having led for so long in the game, but the manager believes that the positives of the performance far outweigh any negatives and any disappointment come the final whistle.

Knill ended the interview by taking time out to praise the supporters for their efforts on the day, and he was delighted to see them behind the team from the first till last whistle, adding that if the players have that kind of support – and in turn are giving the fans something to get behind – come the end of the season he believes we’ll be where we want to be.