The former Blackpool winger has made four appearances for the Blues since joining in January
Keshi Anderson savoured a stunning Pompey full debut and insisted: There’s more to come.
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LIVE Pompey v Oxford | Graham Hunt/ProSportsImages
It represented his first start since lining up for Birmingham in a 3-0 defeat at Watford on New Year’s Day, signalling a final outing for the St Andrew's club.
And the former Crystal Palace and Blackpool man is eyeing continuing to make a significant impact in the Blues’ final six matches as they battle to stay in the Championship.
‘It has been a long time coming’
He told The News: ‘It has been a long time coming. I was unfortunate to get injured in the way that I did, but I’ve been working and the gaffer trusts me enough to put me in for such a big game against Oxford.
‘Unfortunately we couldn’t repay him in the way that was needed in terms of three points, but we gave him the team effort and team spirit which is going to be needed for the next six games.
‘I thought I played well. There were moments I probably could have done better in terms of keeping the ball. There were moments I did very well in terms of protecting the ball, getting fouls which allowed me to take pressure off the team. There’s always room for improvement.
Keshi Anderson made his fourth Pompey appearance in the 2-2 draw with Oxford. Picture: Graham Hunt/ProSportsImagesplaceholder image
Keshi Anderson made his fourth Pompey appearance in the 2-2 draw with Oxford. Picture: Graham Hunt/ProSportsImages | Graham Hunt/ProSportsImages
‘To be fair, Colby did unbelievably well for my goal, using his body as he always does. Sometimes it’s not him actually getting the perfect touch or the perfect flick-on, it’s actually him distracting someone and allowing it to drop for other people.
‘He did exactly that again in the box. The defender rushed out, I was able to chop it onto my left foot and get the finish off through some bodies. It was a good goal, a good start to the game.
‘There’s always more to come from me. Unfortunately I’ve missed a lot of games, getting match minutes as opposed to training minutes is a lot different. It takes a lot of toll on the body.
‘I would like to think I’m in a very good place physically and mentally and, when the gaffer asked on 69 minutes how I felt, well I felt fine. Then, about three minutes later, I started to cramp. Those three minutes were quite drastic!
‘We now have another game on Saturday that we’ll look forward to and recover in the best way possible.’
Anderson lasted 81 minutes against the U’s before being replaced by Alli with the scoreline poised at 1-1.
However, within seconds, Michal Helik easily rolled the substitute on the edge of the box and crossed for Will Lankshear to score with a flying header to hand Oxford the lead.
Yet Alli made amends two minutes from time, when he pulled the ball back from the left byline for Andre Dozzell to net with a first-time left-footed finish as the Fratton Park clash finished 2-2.
‘It’s a point - it’s not a good point’
Andrson added: ‘It’s a point, it’s not a good point because it’s a game in which we were very comfortable. We felt that could have led to us being far superior, had it not been for certain circumstances.
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‘Norwich on Friday is what you look at as a good point. With Monday at home, I don’t know if it was a good point. I look at it as circumstances have gained us a point.
‘It wasn’t like we didn’t have chances against Oxford, it wasn't like we didn't create anything with 10 men. We were quite comfortable in our shape.’
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