Match preview: Portsmouth (h)

National League leaders Chesterfield welcome League One table-toppers Portsmouth to the SMH Group Stadium in the first round of the Emirates FA Cup.

Paul Cook, Gary Roberts, Tom Naylor and Michael Jacobs are all coming up against their former club.

Here’s everything you need to know…

Match Details

Date: Sunday, October 5, 2023

Opponents: Portsmouth

Kick-off: 12:15pm

Competition: Emirates FA Cup

Location: SMH Group Stadium

Tickets

Tickets are available for the fixture here: https://tickets.chesterfield-fc.co.uk/en-gb/categories/match

Live Radio Commentary

Our in-house radio station, 1866 Sport, will provide exclusive full match commentary on the game, as well as pre and post-match analysis.

Don’t forget that 1866 Sport is on air 24-hours a day, seven days a week!

You can download the app from the Apple Store here: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/1866-sport/id1580041321

If you’re an Android user, you can download the app here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radio.ma57501030

Alternatively, you can listen online here: https://streaming.radio.co/s47db4a4f3/listen

It is also available via Alexa.

Our dedicated matchday show is sponsored by National Windscreens and will see commentator Phil Tooley joined by a special co-commentator.

Social Media

You can follow the action on our X page (https://twitter.com/ChesterfieldFC), where we will provide regular updates.

Key news and moments will also be posted onto our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Pre/post-match interviews and highlights will be posted to our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6hnRkCdElagLJlOqlgukPA) throughout the weekend.

The Opposition

Name: Portsmouth Football Club

Nickname: Pompey

Founded: 1898

Stadium: Fratton Park

Capacity: 20,899

Manager: John Mousinho

Honours:

First Division (Level 1) Champions | 1948/49 & 1949/50

First Division (Level 2) Champions | 2002/03

Third Division Champions | 1923/24, 1961/62 & 1982/83

League Two Champions | 2016/17

Southern League First Division Champions | 1900/01, 1901/02 & 1902/03

FA Cup Winners | 1938/39 & 2007/08

FA Charity Shield Winners | 1949/50

EFL Trophy Winners | 2018/19

On John Mousinho

John Mousinho spent the majority of his career in the Football League with two promotions to his name at Stevenage and Burton Albion. He played for Oxford United for the last six years of his playing career, making over 150 appearances for the U’s. Mousinho swapped playing for a career in coaching in January 2023 as he left Oxford to join Portsmouth as their head coach. The 37-year-old has enjoyed a good nine-months since, currently leading Pompey to their longest league unbeaten run in their history at 26 games.

One to watch

Portsmouth currently top of League One, and doing so unbeaten, and have a team of fantastic player. However, Colby Bishop has been an important player for Pompey since joining from Accrington Stanley in 2022. His first season at Fratton Park was a big success as he scored 24 goals and won their Player of the Season award. He’s on his way to repeating that success as he sits second in the League One scoring charts this campaign.

This season in numbers:

Appearances – 15

Goals – 9

Assist – 2

Yellow Cards – 0

Red Cards – 0

Minutes Played – 1,382

Played for both

The Spireites currently have a couple of players and a couple of backroom staff that have had stints at Chesterfield and Portsmouth – one of those is Gary Roberts. The technical attacking midfielder moved to North Derbyshire from Swindon Town in 2013. He immediately became a fan favourite, scoring 11 goals as Paul Cook’s side won the League Two title in 2014. After spending another season with the Blues and getting to the League One play-offs, Roberts moved to Portsmouth and reunited with Cook.

In the 2016/17 season, Pompey won promotion to League One by winning the League Two title despite not being top until the final day. Roberts left the South Coast at the end of that season, joining Wigan Athletic. In 2022, the 39-year-old re-joined Chesterfield as a member of the coaching staff.

View from the dugout

Danny Webb said: “Everyone is really looking forward to the game. It’s a different pressure to a league game and we can turn up with a little less anxiety, I guess, as the pressure is off us. We’re excited for it but we’ll be looking for the win, no doubt.

“No-one turn up to lose a football match and that definitely doesn’t start with us, we’re looking to win the game and test ourselves against the best team in League One.”