Portsmouth fix up friendly with non-leaguers in bid to boost first-team options amid worrying form

Squad members, Academy players and, potentially, triallists will be involved against Aldershot Watch more of our videos on Shots! and live on Freeview channel 276

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Anthony Scully and Tom Lowery are to be handed crucial match minutes as the Blues host Aldershot in a behind-closed-doors friendly. The duo have made sporadic first-team appearances since undergoing knee operations, with Lowery making his comeback as a substitute against Leyton Orient.

However, they are pencilled to start against National League opposition on Tuesday afternoon at the Blues' Hilsea training ground.

Anthony Scully will be handed match minutes in a Pompey friendly against Aldershot.

Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages

That includes Scully, Lowery, Josh Martin and Ben Stevenson, although it remains to be seen whether Connor Ogilvie is risked after his long-lay off. The fixture will also provide the opportunity for Matt Macey to mark his second Pompey spell, having occupied the bench in place of Ryan Schofield on Saturday. In addition to those in the first-team squad, Pompey numbers against Aldershot will be boosted by a number of Academy players.

Koby Mottoh, Mitch Aston, Jack Fox and Harvey Laidlaw are all in the frame to feature as decisions loom over whether to offer professional deals at the end of their two-year scholarship. Aston and Laidlaw are presently on loan at Horndean, while Fox is with Baffins, with the trio to return to Fratton Park later this week at the end of their loans. There is also the possibility to include triallists, allowing Rich Hughes and Mousinho to cast their eyes over potential recruits.

Primarily, though, the fixture will benefit the first-team, with the likes of Scully and Lowery in desperate need of more game time since suffering injuries in August. Scully returned in December and has totalled just 13 minutes of League One football since, while had a 45-minute run-out against AFC Wimbledon in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. His most recent involvement was a seven-minute cameo at Cheltenham, during which he was booked for diving.

Lowery was introduced at half-time in the 3-0 defeat to Leyton Orient, producing a man-of-the-match display, although the bar had been set low by his team-mates. It was his first appearance for five months, having not even played a competitive match or behind-closed-doors fixture during that time. Also featuring against Orient was Martin, who came on for 14 minutes, taking his Pompey tally to five matches since initially earning a deal in November.

That represented his first league outing in the Blues' last nine fixtures - and followed last week signing a contract until the season's end.

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