Ritchie Sad For Pompey!

Last updated : 17 February 2022 By Footy Mad - Editor

Portsmouth fan Matt Ritchie was 'hurt' when he missed the penalty against Southampton.

Ritchie, a boyhood Portsmouth fan and former player at Fratton Park, had had a penalty saved for Newcastle United against Southampton.

Fortunately, Ritchie was able to smile about it after the game, which was decided by a late goal from Allan Saint-Maximin.

However, the Gosport-born player, expecting messages from Portsmouth and Southampton-supporting friends, was tempted to switch his mobile phone to aeroplane mode on Saturday night.

“My phone will be on aeroplane mode tonight, that’s for sure, because my friends from Portsmouth will be battering me and my friends from Southampton will be battering me,” said Ritchie.

“I smile now, but I smile because we got three points. Deep down, it hurts that I missed the penalty. As I say, I’ve got thick skin. I’ll continue.”

“I’m delighted,” said Ritchie, whose new contract at St James’s Park was confirmed ahead of the game. “A massive, massive result for the lads. Hopefully, we can now build on it.

“I thought the performance was good. We created chances in the first half, although we didn’t have loads of the ball. When we had the ball, we created chances, real positive.

“We came in at half time, and I know they’d gone down to 10 men, but sometimes it’s difficult. I thought we moved the ball really well at times. Obviously, we then got the goal. It’s always going to be tight in these games, six-pointers. As I say, I’m really pleased, and delighted for the lads.”