Portsmouth manager John Mousinho was thrilled after Conor Shaughnessy’s late heroics handed his table-toppers a 2-1 victory over Wycombe.
Centre-back Shaughnessy bagged his first Pompey goal in the 98th minute when he connected with Jack Sparkes’ corner to send Fratton Park wild.
Pompey had gone behind to Wycombe captain Josh Scowen’s near post-flick from Luke Leahy’s in-swinging corner in the 22nd minute but responded after 58 minutes when Abu Kamara’s low cross was stabbed in by Colby Bishop, who netted his sixth goal of the season.
Mousinho said: “It feels amazing to be honest. To have the reaction to scoring the goal in front of the Fratton End; the whole stadium went up.
“I thought we thoroughly deserved the win. We obviously left it very late, and I only allowed myself a few seconds to celebrate because I knew I had to get Sean Raggett on straight away”
“I thought our chance had gone when Colby missed a chance at the far post.
“My emotions wouldn’t have been quite as happy if we hadn’t scored that late goal but I would have been as happy with the performance and how we went about things. Overall I’m pleased with tonight.
“We stood up to the physical test really well. Wycombe are really good at what they do. They have a Premier League centre forward and have plenty of Championship calibre behind it.
“We went a goal behind and it is difficult from there. Wycombe sat in and made it difficult. We stuck at it under difficult circumstances and were absolutely superb.”
Pompey recorded their 22nd game unbeaten in Sky Bet League One to stay top.
Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield complained Shaughessy’s winner had come after a foul on his goalkeeper Max Stryjek.
He said: “I am very angry and frustrated, and also sorry for the supporters who made the journey on a Tuesday night.
“It was a blatant foul on the goalkeeper for their second. Their player jumps into him and prevents him from catching the ball and flattens him.
“I was very proud of the lads tonight and thought we carried a threat even in the second half. We deserved something from the game.
“Decisions against us are becoming a regular occurrence.
“It is so disappointing that the lads work extremely hard and decisions like that cost us getting something out of the game. That’s the second game in a row we have been hard done by.
“We were really looking forward to this game, so disappointed to come away with nothing.
“We obviously have to pick ourselves up from this. We go to Fleetwood on Saturday, and we need to start getting points.”
Van Dijk welcomes Slot arrival as Liverpool captain commits to Reds future
Virgil van Dijk insists his future remains solely with Liverpool as the Reds captain welcomed incoming Dutch compatriot Arne Slot.
Slot will replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, with the Dutchman expected to take charge at Anfield from Saturday after sealing his switch from Feyenoord.
The soon-to-be Liverpool boss leaves the Netherlands after three highly successful seasons with Feyenoord, having led them to the league title in 2023.
Slot will be welcomed by two fellow countrymen on the red side of Merseyside, with Van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch eager to link-up with their new manager.
As Netherlands began their Euro 2024 training camp on Monday, Van Dijk told a news conference: "I still have a year left on my contract.
"I am club captain and I have made it clear I am there for the new coach and enthusiastic over the next season.
"Obviously, there will be a lot of changes but I am confident we will make a big success of it.
"I congratulated [Slot] of course and I'm really pleased for him and his family. We spoke about the team and the future but now my focus is fully on the national team."
Slot's reign ended with six straight league wins and Feyenoord did not lose any of his final 20 Eredivisie matches at the helm, their last defeat coming against PSV on December 3.
The 45-year-old oversaw exactly 150 games in charge of Feyenoord across all competitions, winning 98 of those contests (65.33 per cent).
Slot also won the KNVB Cup glory in April, overseeing a 1-0 win over NEC Nijmegen in the final of that competition, and Gravenberch believes that success has earnt his Liverpool move.
"I think he can be good for my career, he's a coach who wants to play good football," added Gravenberch.
UEFA and FIFA warned to halt Super League opposition by Spanish court
FIFA and UEFA have been told to stop their opposition against the European Super League (ESL), with a Spanish court ruling warning of anti-competitive behaviour and abuse of a dominant position.
Madrid's commercial court said on Monday the European and world governing bodies violated competition law by banning and punishing clubs from participating in a proposed new tournament.
FIFA and UEFA were told to reverse any anticompetitive actions committed in the past after A22 Sports Management, the company behind the plan to create the ESL, brought the case to Spanish court.
"It's an important step towards a truly competitive and sustainable club football landscape in Europe," A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said in a statement after the ruling.
"For too long UEFA has been allowed to control and dominate club football at European level."
Reichart added that UEFA's position on the ESL has "stifled innovation for decades", though celebrated "the era of the monopoly [as] definitively over".
The case was also brought against LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), though that pair and UEFA insisted the court ruling did not explicitly support the creation of the Super League.
"The court has not given the green light to, nor has it approved, projects like the Super League," UEFA said in a follow-up statement.
"In fact, the judge has asserted that the Super League project has long been abandoned and that she cannot be expected to rule on any abstract projects.
"In short, the judgment does not give third parties the right to develop competitions without authorisation and does not concern any future project or indeed any modified version of an existing project."
English football's so-called 'big six' – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham – were founding members of the original Super League project in April 2021.
Yet those Premier League clubs quickly withdrew amid fan protests and pressure from the football authorities, with Milan, Inter and Atletico Madrid following a similar suit.
UEFA has since changed its rules around new competitions following the collapse of the ESL proposal in April 2021 and the court says those new rules are unaffected by Monday's ruling.
"The court also confirmed that the current version of UEFA's authorisation rules [as adopted in June 2022] is not affected by today's ruling," the European governing body added.
Bonmati named Women's Champions League Player of Season for second straight campaign
Aitana Bonmati secured the Women's Champions League Player of the Season for a second straight campaign after guiding Barcelona to European glory.
The Spain international scored in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Lyon in the final, helping Jonatan Giraldez's side clinch an unprecedented quadruple.
Fellow Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas produced the other goal in that victory, but Bonmati was named Player of the Match after another eye-catching performance.
With six goals and six assists, the 26-year-old managed more goal contributions than any other player in this season's Champions League, and that earned Bonmati further individual recognition.
"She influenced the game all over the pitch in and out of possession. High progressive passes, high ball recoveries and scored a great goal," UEFA's technical observer panel said in a statement.
Bonmati also scored eight goals in Barcelona's victorious Liga F campaign this season, helping the Spanish giants win the competition for a fifth consecutive time.
Having already won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA's best women's player award for 2023, this UEFA award caps a fine season for the impressive Bonmati.
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