Analysing Portsmouth's effectiveness through the analysis of player touch Heat-maps

Portsmouth's recent run of 6 matches has yielded 4 defeats and just 2 victories. This analysis attempts to use heat-maps (player touches) to draw conclusions.

Introduction

Pompey’s form this season has witnessed more ups and downs than a funfair ride at Southsea’s Clarence Pier. Despite being beaten 4-0 and 3-0 on the road, John Mousinho’s team has rallied at home, scoring 4 goals twice: in wins against both Coventry and Swansea at Fratton Park.

However, to put Portsmouth’s recent home form down simply to playing well with home advantage is perhaps too simplistic, meaning deeper analysis was necessary.

The following heat-map analysis suggests that Portsmouth’s direct long ball style is more effective than when they try to retain possession in matches.

The heat-maps suggest that Pompey were most dangerous when they prioritised attacking down the left channel, and when they defended relatively deeply in their right full-back position.

When Portsmouth were most successful, their goalkeeper (Schmid) initiated attacks mostly with long and direct kicks into opposition territory with little or no attempt to play out from the back.

As a result, those matches were played mostly in the opposition half. Further analysis revealed that Portsmouth were most effective when getting crosses into the box and when their centre-forward (Bishop) and attacking midfield (Lang) had more touches centrally in the attacking third.

Derby County 4 - 0 Portsmouth 13/12/2024

In the 4-0 defeat to Derby, Portsmouth showed an intent to get both full-backs (Devlin and Ogilvie) into advanced positions. In this match, more crosses came in from the right than the left. Ritchie and Devlin crossed more often from the right hand-side than Ogilvie and Murphy did from the left.

Defensively, both full back areas were exposed. As a result, 2 of the Derby goals and 1 very dangerous shot came from attacks down the left hand-side. Derby’s 4th goal - in the second-half - came from an attack by Derby in Portsmouth’s left back area.

Portsmouth 4 - 1 Coventry 21/12/2024

The heatmap for the 4-1 victory against Coventry demonstrates Pompey’s preference to attack down their left-hand side. Consequently, 5 key passes came from the left flank.

Notice how Portsmouth have neglected their left-back area even more than in the previous match. The pay-off is how advanced they are in the left-wing area. The green area of the heat-map is almost touching the Coventry corner flag!

Only in this match and in the 4-0 home win against Swansea City do green patches of heat emerge in and around the central area on the edge of the penalty box. This is significant as Pompey’s attacking players, Lang and Bishop, were able to get on the ball in dangerous areas. As a result, Callum Lang scored four times in a resounding win live on television.

Watford 2 - 1 Portsmouth 26/12/2024

Away at Watford, Portsmouth adopted a 4-4-2 formation and handed possession to the Hornets who amassed 717 touches to Pompey’s 378. The heatmap suggests a low and compact defensive structure forcing Watford to play around the sides. Playing with two central strikers, Portsmouth were unable to get their wide players into advanced areas of the pitch. It’s fair to say that Portsmouth were limited in terms of possession and territory.

Despite being defensively solid, Portsmouth’s attacking players were unable to get into advanced positions out wide. As a result, Lang and Bishop were starved of service. Portsmouth’s only goal came from a set-piece scored by full-back Zak Swanson.

Bristol City 3 - 0 Portsmouth 29/12/2024

The next heatmap, from the 3-0 defeat at Bristol City, looks very similar to the heatmap from the 4-0 defeat at Derby - in terms of shape. Full-backs, Devlin and Ogilvie, were both advanced leaving spaces in behind. These spaces were exploited to the full by Bristol City who managed to create 20 shooting opportunities from good positions.

Portsmouth played a more possession style of football (than they had in other games analysed here) and controlled the ball for long spells in central areas. However, they were unable to penetrate down the flanks as effectively as they had in previous games.

It should be noted that Head Coach John Mousinho chose to rest several players for this match during the busy Christmas schedule.

Portsmouth 4 - 0 Swansea City 01/01/2025

Despite a heavy defeat at Bristol City, Pompey manager John Mousinho stuck with the 4-2-3-1 system against a possession based Swansea side. Mousinho got his reward as his team forced defensive errors from the opposition and created chances from both flanks. Similar to the win against Coventry, Portsmouth were able to maximise touches (25 touches) in the opposition box.

Swansea’s persistence in playing out from the back encouraged Portsmouth to press higher up the pitch leading to 2 goals from Swansea losing possession in their defensive third.

Sunderland 1 - 0 Portsmouth 05/01/2025

Defeat at Sunderland won’t have come as a surprise to many given Sunderland’s position in the league. However, Portsmouth gave a good account of themselves despite being reduced to 10 men in the second-half. The heatmap reaffirms Pompey’s preference to attack down the left flank where Murphy (30 touches in the final third) and Ogilvie (11 touches in the final third) were particularly effective.

Conclusion

On this evidence, Portsmouth have been at their most effective when they attack down the left flank and when they ensure that the right back area is well-covered defensively.

When they attack down the left flank, they seem able to get their central attackers Callum Lang and Colby Bishop into the game more often in dangerous areas.

Portsmouth remain vulnerable to long and direct attacks in their full-back areas.

Whilst heat-maps provide limited insight into a team’s strategy and playing style, this analysis demonstrates that they can yield some useful information and raise questions for further investigation and analysis.