Stevenage's 2022/23 Papa John's Trophy campaign comes to an end in Portsmouth...

Boro travelled to the South Coast with a place in the quarter finals of The Papa John’s Trophy up for grabs. Sky Bet League One side Portsmouth were the opponents as Steve Evans made six changes from Saturday’s stalemate with Mansfield. Chapman, Clark, Taylor, Kane Smith, Read and Rose returned to the starting eleven.

The opening fifteen minutes provided very little for either set of supporters to be excited about as both sides attempted to match the other. Pompey appeared quick in transition but were unable to carve out a clear-cut chance.

Boro’s first chance came after twenty minutes as Arthur Read was brought down thirty yards from goal. The Stevenage midfielder took aim from the resulting free kick, but Josh Oluwayemi flew across goal to stop the ball flying into the top corner.

Stevenage came agonisingly close to grabbing the opener just after the half-hour mark. Jake Taylor headed the ball into a dangerous area with Carl Piergianni looming, but the Boro skipper chipped it just over the bar from point-blank range.

With just under ten minutes to go until the break, Pompey took the lead. Jay Mingi picked up the ball and went on a darting run forward before calmly slotting it into the bottom left corner.

Stevenage created one last chance in the first half, as Kane Smith laid the ball off to Luther James-Wildin who tried his luck from twenty yards, but his shot flew just over the bar. The referee then blew for half-time, with just the one goal making the difference.

Ahead of the second half, Evans made three changes. David Amoo, Jordan Roberts and Luke Norris replaced Arthur Read, Danny Rose and Kane Smith.

Pompey applied plenty of pressure in the opening stages of the half, but it was Stevenage who created the next chance. Max Clark’s curling corner fell to the feet of Dan Sweeney at the back post, but the defender tapped it wide.

Boro were on the front foot as they looked to find an equaliser. Jordan Roberts took aim from the edge of the box, forcing Josh Oluwayemi to parry the ball to the feet of Jake Taylor who was standing in an offside position.

Just before the hour mark, Pompey doubled their lead. Josh Koroma was played through on goal, with the task of slotting it past Aaron Chapman to increase his side’s lead.

Koroma was playing full of confidence after his goal, as he had two similar shots from the edge of the box within the space of a minute. The first was deflected just wide of the post, before the second was well kept out by Chapman.

Stevenage had a positive spell soon after, with Dan Sweeney and Jordan Roberts both trying their luck from range, but Josh Oluwayemi continued his fine form by getting down to deny.

The final twenty minutes were almost silent as Pompey looked to hold onto their lead and allow Boro no glimpse of a goal. The final kick of the game turned out to be a goal for Portsmouth as the League One side made it three in the dying moments. The referee then blew his final whistle to put an end to Stevenage's Papa John's Trophy campaign.

Attendance: 2,162 including 76 travelling supporters