Match Report
On the table this was a mismatch: Portsmouth (8th, 70 pts) held a 26-point advantage over Morecambe (22nd, 44 pts). Morecambe had been over-performing their table position on recent form: 4th in the league over the last five rounds against 22nd overall. Against a league average of 1.28 goals per team per game, Portsmouth ran at 1.33 scored and 1.09 conceded, Morecambe at 1.02 and 1.7.
Portsmouth had not lost in 5 games. Morecambe entered with three losses in a row. Portsmouth had banked 11 of the last 15 points on offer; Morecambe, 1.
The head-to-head ledger counts 11 games: 3 Portsmouth wins, 2 for Morecambe, 6 draws, at 2.91 goals per meeting. The recent editions have closed up — 2 goals per game over the last five against 2.91 all-time.
O. Yates took charge of the match — our records show 100 games refereed with an average of 2.6 yellow cards per game. Fratton Park in Portsmouth staged the fixture, a ground that holds 20,688. On the scoreboard, it was 0-0 at the break, and no goals arrived after the restart: 0-0 the final score.