John Mousinho saluted goalscoring heroes Myles Peart-Harris and Abu Kamara as League One leaders Portsmouth came from behind to beat Cambridge 3-1.
Kusini Yengi won and converted a penalty to cancel out Danny Andrew’s opener, before Peart-Harris – signed on loan from Brentford in January – and Kamara scored in the second half to earn the points before Yengi gave way to top scorer Colby Bishop.
Mousinho said: “Obviously happy with the win. We seemed to lose our shape for the first half-hour, and to be fair I thought Cambridge deserved the lead because of how poor we had been.
“It seemed to kick us into life and up until half-time we were much better, and it was important that we pulled that goal back before then.
“We were excellent in the second half, and it was satisfying to see the two goals. It was great to see Myles get his first, and Abu just keeps growing in confidence.
“Kusini was excellent having come in after being away with Australia, and it shows what we can do even with your top scorer on the bench.”
The one sour note for Mousinho was an injury to midfielder Tom Lowery, who was forced off before half-time.
“Tom Lowery has felt his hamstring, and it doesn’t look good,” said Mousinho. “It was decided he was ready to start a game, and I take responsibility for making that decision. We’re all gutted for him.”
The opening half-hour saw Pompey dominate but Cambridge’s confidence grew, and they were rewarded with the opener after 38 minutes. A corner was headed goalwards by Andrew and Will Norris could not keep the ball out.
That seemed to spring Pompey into life, and within six minutes the hosts had equalised. Yengi was brought down in the box and dusted himself down to send the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Cambridge started out the better side in the second half, with Pompey struggling to get any fluency.
But after 59 minutes they found their spark and went ahead as good build-up play saw Peart-Harris slide in to score from a Paddy Lane cross.
Cambridge pushed hard for an equaliser but Pompey got a third after 71 minutes when Kamara smashed home via the crossbar.
Cambridge boss Neil Harris said: “I was very pleased with our performance. I thought we were excellent until their second went in. We had a plan, and we were very good on the transition.
“We got ourselves in front with a well-worked corner, and we needed to keep that lead until half-time against the top team in the league in front of a near sell-out crowd but unfortunately, we conceded the penalty.
“We started the second half well and had a couple of chances, but then you get punished. I asked for a reaction to the home defeat on Saturday, and I got that. But if you don’t put your chances away, then you get punished, so we must be more clinical.
“We go to Carlisle on Saturday and it will be the same squad travelling. We must make sure that it’s not three losses on the bounce.”
Alexander-Arnold says Lineker's Euro 2024 criticism of England was warranted
Trent Alexander-Arnold admits England's players agreed with Gary Lineker's controversial description of the Three Lions' Euro 2024 performances as "s***".
Lineker hit out at England's display in a 1-1 group-stage draw with Denmark on his podcast, The Rest is Football, in comments that attracted a fierce response from captain Harry Kane.
Kane responded by saying former England players in the media had a "responsibility" when it came to discussing the national team, calling on them to be more supportive.
Alexander-Arnold, however, says many in the camp agreed with Lineker's criticism and feels some used it as motivation as the Three Lions grew into the tournament, finishing as runners-up to Spain.
"We had all seen it and heard it and felt it," the Liverpool ace told The Daily Mirror. "We all knew that we could be playing and performing better.
"It is never nice for someone to point that out but everyone deep down knew it within ourselves, too.
"It was something we were already thinking about, we knew we needed to be better. We had to add that to our performances, some players may have used that as motivation."
England created chances worth just 6.15 expected goals (xG) in their seven games in Germany, with only Scotland (0.32), Serbia (0.7), Slovenia (0.81), Albania (0.82) and Italy (0.84) averaging a lower xG figure per game than their 0.88.
The Three Lions needed a stoppage-time overhead kick from Jude Bellingham to overcome Slovakia in the last 16, a penalty shoot-out to advance against Switzerland in the quarter-finals and a last-minute Ollie Watkins winner to beat the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
After England's dramatic run ended with a 2-1 final loss to Spain, manager Gareth Southgate announced his resignation following eight years at the helm.
Alexander-Arnold believes the Three Lions' aim for the 2026 World Cup must be to finally get over the line, promising the squad will give their all for Southgate's successor.
"Everyone has a high expectation with England now and rightly so, it is true of us as players," he added.
"We feel we should be winning tournaments, that is the goal and standard we have set ourselves. That will be there for the new manager."
Bayern sporting director Eberl suggests Kimmich future in doubt
Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl has suggested Joshua Kimmich's future at the club could be in question, saying no player is guaranteed a regular starting place.
Kimmich has entered the final 12 months of his contract with Bayern, who he joined in 2015 and has helped win eight Bundesliga titles and one Champions League.
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Manchester City have all been linked with a move for the 29-year-old, who endured a difficult 2023-24 campaign.
Kimmich reportedly had a strained relationship with former Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel, as the club saw their 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga title ended by Bayer Leverkusen.
Speaking to Welt am Sonntag, Eberl hinted every player in the Bayern squad must prove themselves ahead of Vincent Kompany's first season in charge.
"Joshua is a very good player, but it is generally true that professional football is a competitive sport," Eberl said.
"We cannot say to any player; 'Hey, you are the one who is going to play.
"I'm just saying what applies to everyone. We have exciting players in all positions and therefore many alternatives."
Bayern strengthened their midfield options by clinching a deal for Fulham's Joao Palhinha earlier this month, having already signed Michael Olise from Crystal Palace.
Rangers 0-2 Manchester United: Diallo and Hugill secure Red Devils' first pre-season win
Manchester United claimed their first victory of pre-season with a 2-0 win over Rangers at Murrayfield.
Amad Diallo and Joe Hugill were on target for Erik ten Hag's side, who bounced back from their 1-0 defeat by Rosenborg last time out.
The Red Devils, whose starting XI included new signing Leny Yoro and the returning Jadon Sancho, went close with young striker Ethan Wheatley calling Jack Butland into action, while Diallo was narrowly off target from a free-kick.
The latter broke the deadlock four minutes before half-time, cutting inside from the right wing before flashing a shot into Butland's bottom-right corner.
Sancho shot over from close range before United doubled their lead 19 minutes from time. Maxi Oyedele provided a neat throughball for fellow substitute Hugill, who brilliantly fired home first time off the underside of the crossbar.
Andre Onana denied Ridvan Yilmaz's acrobatic effort later on to preserve a clean sheet for Ten Hag's side, who will travel to Los Angeles to face Arsenal next week.
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