Portsmouth vs Plymouth Argyle. Sky Bet League Two.
Fratton ParkAttendance17,622.
Friday 13 May 2016 13:07, UK
Portsmouth and Plymouth Argyle played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Sky Bet League Two play-off semi-final at Fratton Park on Thursday night.
A first-half brace by Argyle striker Jamille Matt had sent the visitors 2-1 in at the break after Marc McNulty's early opener. But - with Pompey boss Paul Cook watching on from the stands after a first-half sending-off - a Gary Roberts penalty levelled things up after the interval.
The result leaves the tie on a knife-edge going into the second leg at Home Park on Sunday evening.
Portsmouth went into their first play-off since 1993 without regular defenders Adam Webster and Kieron Freeman, but were able to call upon the services of creative players Kyle Bennett and McNulty after the duo both passed late fitness tests.
And goalkeeper Ryan Allsop was given special dispensation by the Football League to sign for the club on an emergency loan from Bournemouth, going straight into the starting line-up on the day that he arrived at Fratton Park.
Argyle, who finished three points above their opponents in the league, welcomed back Carl McHugh after a hamstring injury, but started the game with forward Reuben Reid on the substitutes' bench after he failed to prove his fitness in time to start.
Pompey had scored the opening goal in each of the previous three league meetings between these teams, and it took Cook's side just three minutes to continue that streak. Argyle captain Curtis Nelson gave the ball away in a dangerous area after trying to play out from the back, and McNulty took advantage by firing a long-range effort past a wrong-footed Luke McCormick.
But the lead lasted just six minutes as Allsop failed to cover himself in glory on his Pompey debut, unable to gather a looping Gregg Wylde header to allow Pilgrims centre-forward Matt to nod home through a crowd of bodies inside the six-yard box.
And Matt was in the thick of the action again as he got himself involved in an altercation with midfielder Danny Hollands and Pompey captain Doyle after an innocuous challenge on halfway.
None of the officials saw the incident, but the confrontation enraged the two benches, leading to both Portsmouth manager Paul Cook and Argyle assistant Paul Wotton being sent to the stands by referee Oliver Langford.
Matt will face a nervous wait to see if there is any retrospective action taken over his clash with Doyle, but the forward made the most of his reprieve when he cushioned a long throw-in, before flicking a stunning overhead-kick beyond Allsop to make it 2-1 to the visitors after ten minutes.
Bennett struck the post for Portsmouth as the first half continued to produce chances at both ends, but it took just six minutes of the second half for the home side to draw level. Peter Hartley hauled down McNulty right on the edge of the box and the referee awarded a penalty that Roberts duly dispatched.
