Mousinho Describes Postponement as ‘Unique, Bizarre, Gutting’

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho stated that he and his players were “gutted” after their Championship fixture against Millwall, scheduled for Wednesday night, was postponed. This marked the second game for Portsmouth to be called off in under a week. The announcement of the cancellation at Fratton Park was met with frustrated boos from supporters, as it represented the second match for the Blues to be postponed within a seven-day period. The previous Saturday’s fixture at Blackburn had been cancelled following an unsuccessful pitch inspection, and a power outage was responsible for the cancellation of Millwall’s midweek visit. Mousinho, speaking to BBC Radio Solent with a smile, stated, “Just as I was about to give the speech of a lifetime to the boys, the power cut out in the changing rooms.” He continued, “I then wandered out on to the pitch after and realised the floodlights had gone off too and that there might be a potential issue.” Mousinho described the event, saying, “It was a unique night and something I’ve not experienced in football before,” adding, “We were gutted about it at the time, it was bizarre and hopefully in a few years we can look back on this night and smile.” Approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled kick-off, the floodlights failed, leading supporters to initially jeer and then express their frustrations. Following approximately 40 minutes of darkness, the lighting was gradually reinstated, prompting both teams to emerge for warm-ups, fostering optimism that the match might proceed. Nevertheless, the game was ultimately cancelled because certain lights in the stands remained non-functional, alongside problems with CCTV and scheduling. “Suddenly the dressing room went dark” The power subsequently failed once more approximately an hour after all supporters had departed the venue, indicating that if the game had commenced, additional delays would have been probable. On the same evening, Gosport Borough, a nearby seventh-tier club, also experienced a match abandonment due to floodlight failure, though any connection between the two occurrences remains unconfirmed. Mousinho further stated, “I’d assumed the game would be on when the floodlights came back on.” He elaborated, “But there is much more complexity to it than that – with 21,000 fans in a very small area and there being various issues with safety and policing, the football came second at that point.” Mousinho concluded, “As time went on it became clear that while the floodlights were on, there were other issues and it became more likely that the game wouldn’t be on.” Portsmouth is scheduled to travel to Swansea City on Saturday, aiming to play their inaugural league match since their last appearance on 9 November.