Swansea boss Vitor Matos ‘stunned’ by Portsmouth comeback in loss at Fratton Park

Press Association Sport Staff

Swansea boss Vitor Matos was stunned by the whiplash of looking like his side had saved a point before collapsing 3-1 against Portsmouth.

However, he insisted they would keep their heads before a clash with Birmingham at the weekend.

“It wasn’t easy at the end but we want to be a team that stays emotionally balanced and calm in every situation,” said Matos. “That is something we can improve. We are all humans and there wasn’t a player that didn’t want to win.

“In a hard game we got it back to 1-1 and felt we could still win the game still. That is the mindset we need to have. We need to stay stable and remain focused on all the details of the game.

“It is not an easy place to come and hold the emotions. It’s a hard league and there are so many games to come. It is important we keep focus on what we need to improve and do better.”
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho hailed his side’s magnificent stoppage-time heroics after a 3-1 victory over Swansea.

Pompey had led from Terry Devlin’s 36th-minute opener until what looked like an 85th-minute sickener, as Zan Vipotnik won and converted a penalty.

But Devlin sent Fratton Park into raptures and then Tommy Waddingham added gloss deep into added time.

It meant the Swans missed out on the chance to go top of the Championship but also extended Pompey’s unbeaten run to six matches.

Mousinho said: “It is a massive win and an important night for us for a number of reasons.

“I am delighted with the result, it is a brilliant result and we would have taken that all day.

“I thought we were absolutely superb in what we wanted to execute for 48 minutes of the game. I was disappointed with the way we conceded the penalty but to respond as we did was magnificent.

“With the way the game had gone we were on the back foot but we looked dangerous on the counter and always thought there was still something there. We were trying to be as attacking as possible and always felt there was another goal there.”

For much of the evening, Devlin’s pushed finish after strong work from Adrian Segecic on the right looked like it might be the only goal.

But the game burst into life in the latter stages as Vipotnik was fouled by Regan Poole, before stepping up to convert from the spot for his fourth goal of the season.

Ross Stewart could have won it for Swansea in the 88th minute but hit the bar, and was made to rue his miss as Pompey rallied.

Devlin got his second of the night after a smart turn and finish from a corner before Waddingham bullied Ben Cabango before slotting home.