Brady refuses to make excuses for 'sloppy' Cobblers after Portsmouth defeat

Jon Brady was unwilling to make any excuses for his side’s ‘sloppiness’ after they were soundly beaten 3-0 by table-topping Portsmouth at Sixfields on Saturday.

Cobblers made the long trip up to Blackpool last Tuesday and put in an immense effort to return from Bloomfield Road with all three points, but they couldn’t replicate their performance levels when Pompey visited four days later.

Sean Raggett headed John Mousinho’s outfit into an early lead before Paddy Lane struck twice either side of the break as the new League One pacesetters eased to a comfortable victory to leapfrog Bolton and return to the summit.

Asked if fatigue played a role in his side’s below-par showing, Brady said: "Blackpool made that excuse after playing us in the week and I don't want to use it as an excuse for us today.

"If we did the basics better and weren't so naive in key moments, it might have been different. I don't want to blame fatigue or anything because I felt we could have given them a better game. They are top for a reason and that's because they constantly and consistently do the basics right.”

Cobblers certainly didn’t take a backward step against Portsmouth, particularly in the first half when they carved out several good openings, but neither Sam Hoskins nor Kieron Bowie could make the most of the chances that came their way.

"Our intention wasn't try to sit back or sit deep and we had chances in the first half,” Brady added. “They are a very good side but we went at them, but we didn't do the basics well enough and we gave away soft goals.

"We gave ourselves and our fans a lot of optimism and a lot of belief that we could take the game to Portsmouth and have a strong battle with them but first and foremost, the basics weren't consistent like they have been in other games.

"Was that down to their quality and their pressure? I'd like to look back at it but I felt we were sloppy in some moments and that's been unlike us recently.”