John Mousinho admitted Portsmouth’s goalless draw at home to winless Cheltenham could have been called off after a fan had to come out of the stands to run the line after two officials hobbled off injured.
The Robins produced a stubborn defensive display to pick up their first point of the season but it was the officials who stole the limelight when not one but two assistant referees limped off.
Fourth official Stephen Brown took over in the first half, but then he had to be replaced early in the second as an appeal was made for a qualified referee to volunteer, leading to 21 minutes of stoppage time.
Mousinho said: “I thought there was a chance the game could be called off because nobody knew what the affiliation of the fan who took over was.
“I was happy because he came down from our South Stand, so fair play to Cheltenham because they could have refused to play on.
“We were not quite on our game and it was a good opportunity for them to secure a point, which they did.
“Putting the game into words, up until the final third we were totally dominant.
“I don’t think we did quite enough to win the game, and we must start breaking these teams down. They come and play a certain way, which is frustrating, but we must overcome that.”
Cheltenham arrived without a win or a goal to their name and it showed, with no shots on targets in the opening half.
Pompey struggled to break down a five-man defence, and their two chances of note were in the seventh minute when a Connor Ogilvie shot flew wide, and an 11th-minute long-range effort from Joe Rafferty, saved by Luke Southwood.
Pompey came out fighting in the second half and Regan Poole thought he had scored with a header, but the ball hit a post and flew straight into goalkeeper Southwood’s arms.
Not even the lengthy stoppage-time period could produce a goal.
Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott said: “It was an outstanding performance from the team today.
“Over the past three or four seasons, a Cheltenham performance would be seen as gritty, organised, charismatic, one that carried a threat, and I thought we were all those things today.”
“I am very pleased that we are going home with a point.
“You could see that everybody played their part. There’s a spirit and camaraderie. There’s some tired bodies with wounds, limps and strains. It’s a tough league, and it’s been a tough start, with Saturday and midweek games.
“It will be nice to not have a game until next Saturday, which will give the players time to recover.”
“I thought the substitute assistant was the best we’ve had.”
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
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