Knill focusing on the positives

Alan Knill tried to take some positives after Torquay lost 5-3 on penalties to Portsmouth after a goalless draw at Plainmoor.

His skipper Lee Mansell fired Torquay's third penalty over the bar and the result was decided when Pompey right-back Yassin Moutaouakil successfully converted the visitors' fifth. During the game home goalkeeper Martin Rice made a brilliant late save to deny Pompey dangerman Andy Barcham. He said: "I thought the first half was dominated by the better team, Portsmouth. "Maybe it affected it us by changing the team but you try and do the right thing and rest players that are carrying injuries and give others a chance to impress. "We want those players to have a run-out but we needed them to have games just in case they are called up. "I thought Thomas Cruise did okay at left-back, Damon Lathrope grew into the game but it's just in the first half you ask for more aggression, more energy, more tempo and we just didn't have that. Whereas on Saturday we had all of that. "So every time we go on the pitch you want people to do exactly what you ask and what they did the day before.But we just didn't have that. "I thought we were better in the second half than the first but I am not going to say we were a whole lot better and then at the end, the pens, we put one over. "There were some positives. We kept another clean sheet in the 90 minutes and I have to say my two central-defenders - Aaron Downes and Krystian Pearce - were outstanding again. "Overall though, I am disappointed because we lost."