Banana Skin Avoided

Full credit to the lads for negotiating a potential FA Cup banana skin, and whilst it was rarely a comfortable afternoon we did ultimately score four away goals and avoid the replay fate of the likes of Everton, 'Boro and Birmingham. It sounded like we had returned to the winning formula which had served us well away from home in the opening weeks ie. soak up some pressure and be devastating on the break. With players like Bent and Rommedahl capable of leaving most defences in their wake, it's a tactic which clearly plays to our strengths. As Curbs never fails to remind us, the Danish flying machine is indeed an 'enigma' but he's a potential match-winner and I certainly hope he's now a fixture in the side for the foreseeable future.

A home draw against non-Premiership opposition would be nice on Monday, but with only two Premiership clubs yet turfed out of the competition (Spurs being the funniest as usual), it's far too early to be dreaming of a rare Cup run. More importantly, we have a vital home game against Birmingham next weekend, the result of which will have big implications for the remainder of our season. If we can match the Blues for commitment, I'm confident we will have sufficient quality to take three points but if we are complacent and believe we are 'too good to go down' then we will have problems. With Pompey likely to be splashing the cash this month, the teams behind us may begin to loom large in our rearview mirror unless we find a way of plugging our defensive holes.