Pompey's Academy side obliterated neighbours Moneyfields 12-0 in a one-sided FA Youth Cup first round tie at Fratton Park.
Moneyfields manager Pete Seiden had stoked up the tie before the game, claiming Pompey should look more at local talent.
‘I imagine it’s the draw they didn’t want. If a club half-a-mile up the road, of scallywags and part-timers, beat them, they would have to quit, surely?" he told The News before the game.
‘Some people are telling me it should be between 6-0 and 10-0. But if I thought that, we wouldn’t even bother going.
‘For me, Pompey don’t look at local, young talent as much as they should.
‘I definitely think we have players who are good enough to be in their youth set-up. But a few of them have been at Pompey in the past and have been let go, so they will have something to prove.’
May be they did but, unfortunately for Pete, all they reinforced was the view that perhaps Pompey's Academy staff know something about the relative talent of a young player after all.
For the record, Ben Close bagged four first half goals - three coming in a five minute spell just before half time, by which juncture Pompey had built up a 7-0 lead.
Chad Field (2), Lewis Gill, Jack Whatmough, Bradley Tarbuck, Adam May, Harry Medway and Lewis Horsburgh were also on the scoresheet.
Paul Hardyman’s side will now host either Barton Rovers or Stevenage in the next round.
Talking of Stevenage, who Pompey face in FA Cup first round action on Saturday, their manager Graham Westley has emphasised the importance of the game to the League 1 strugglers.
“The FA Cup is essential for a club like ours. We have to win FA Cup games to create the finances to sustain the club at the level it is at. There’s nobody here underestimating the importance,” he told the Hertfordshire Mercury.
“But the FA Cup is not all about importance and building pressure, it’s about enjoying it because it’s a wonderful experience. You can’t look at any competition at a club likes ours and see it as less important than any other."
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For the full interview with Graham Westley click here
Last match: Pompey 3-2 Exeter City (HT 1-0) League 2
Goals: Holmes, Bird 2
Team: Carson; Moutaouakil, Bradley, N'Gala, Devera; Holmes, Ferry (Ertl), Racon, Wallace (Barcham); Bird, Agyemang (Connolly)
Attendance: 16,168
Next Match: Stevenage Away - FA Cup 1 Saturday November 9 -3pm
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