Andrew Cullen's Shrewsbury Programme Notes

Greetings and a big thank you to everyone who came to Fratton Park for the Sky Bet League One match against Shrewsbury Town this afternoon. We hope all the fans who travelled from Shropshire made it back home safely after the game.

On Tuesday, an exciting and intense evening took place with a crowd of over 20,000 creating an electrifying atmosphere. The noise level, both before and after the game began, was astounding and greatly motivated the team who fought back twice against a seasoned Derby team. Despite the challenging wet and slippery surface, as well as the swirling wind, the team remained confident and determined during this crucial competition.

Kudos go out to Owen Moxon for scoring an amazing first-time goal for Pompey as well as the entire team, staff, and supporters for contributing to securing another point during a crucial time in the season. I also want to give credit to the unheralded crew of heroes, including Neil Stephenson and his grounds team, who worked their magic to make the field playable despite a downpour of 15mm of rain mere hours before the game. It's an excellent demonstration of the club's close-knit community spirit from top to bottom!

As we approach the last five games of this exceptional season, we cannot afford to be too comfortable. It is essential that we rely on your motivation, confidence, and backing during every second of every game if we hope to achieve the triumph that you all merit.

Today is a special day at Portsmouth Football Club as we have the pleasure of welcoming back a number of past players, who we consider to be heroes. This has become an annual occasion for us and we are thrilled to be able to honour them during half-time. It was also a great privilege for us to have many of our former players join us the previous evening for the Hall of Fame dinner, which took place in the Victory Lounge.

During the event, we also celebrated the 125th anniversary of Portsmouth Football Club. We inducted Hermann Hreiðarssonn, who won the FA Cup, and we honored Dave Coyle posthumously for his over 25 years of service to Pompey Women. The event also included the induction of Bob Blyth, who played on the first Pompey team and went on to become a player/manager, director, vice-chairman, and chairman from 1924-34. Overall, the event focused on commemorating the rich history of the club.

The dinner was a part of a special week where the Pompey Supporters' Trust revealed a beautiful mural on the Pompey Store wall. The mural featured some more legendary players of the club like Alan Knight, Paul Merson, Guy Whittingham, Robert Prosinečki, Kanu and Linvoy Primus. It was another great success for the PST in our 125th anniversary year. In September, the PST had also carried out amazing fundraising efforts to construct the Jimmy Dickinson statue which stands close by with great pride.

Today, the nostalgia vibe is enhanced with the launch of novel old-fashioned clothing - the beloved KJC-branded tops that were worn from 1997 to 1999. These shirts will only be available for purchase at the Pompey Store, which opens before and after today's game.

Marlon Pack was announced as a candidate for the EFL Awards for League One Player of the Year on Thursday. The announcement came after he was acknowledged as the League One Player in the Community winner last week. In addition, John Mousinho was nominated for League One Manager of the Year, and the club was included in the selections for the Fan Engagement Award. The award acknowledges Piglet’s Pantry and their contributions to improving the catering concessions as well as establishing the new FanZone outside the Fratton End. The EFL Awards show is taking place in London on April 14th, Sunday. We celebrate our nominees and wish them great success at the event.

Pompey Women have a game against Plymouth at Westleigh Park tomorrow at 2pm, which could help them win the National League Southern Premier Division title if they win. They only need four points from three games to secure the title, or one win should also do the job, as they currently have a better goal difference of plus-63 compared to second-placed Hashtag United’s plus-23. The game is expected to be exciting, and it'd be amazing if you can come and be a part of a historic moment in this remarkable season for Jay Sadler’s side. If you're interested, the admission fee is £8 for adults, £5 seniors, and £3 for under-18s. Season ticket holders of the men’s team get further discount. As always, our popular face painters and balloon modellers will be present in the stadium, and you can also purchase more Pompey Women merchandise inside the ground.

On Wednesday, there's an important game happening at Fratton Park, with our academy team facing off against Preston in the final match of the Youth Alliance Cup. If you're interested in coming to watch, tickets for the South Stand can be bought online at a cost of £5 for adults and just £1 for those under the age of 17.

We appreciate everyone's help today and we're excited to meet many of you in Bolton next Saturday. Don't forget to come back on Tuesday, April 16, as we'll be having the rescheduled match against Barnsley at 7.45pm.

Have fun playing the game and listening to PUP!