Goals from Sam Greenwood of Leeds, James McAtee of Manchester City and Tyryhs Dolan of Blackburn secured victory for the Young Lions.
It has been revealed that the Blues boss traveled to Colchester to check on Andy Edwards’ side as part of his summer scouting mission.
Cowley was at the game to consider potential loans from Premier League sides who could have a similar impact to Gavin Bazunu.
We’ve taken a look at the Young Lions to see which players might come to Pompey in the future.
A message from the editor, Mark Waldron
You can support our local team of expert Pompey writers by subscribing here for all the latest Fratton Park news for less than 25p a week.
The 19-year-old stopper is currently on loan at Bolton from Manchester City. The young keeper started the season at Accrington before being recalled by his parent club and sent alongside Ian Evatt. Since January, Trafford has amassed 16 appearances for Wanderers, keeping seven clean sheets and could feature against Pompey tonight, who will be looking for a keeper when Gavin Bazunu returns to City this summer.
Photo: Gareth Copley
The 20-year-old has impressed this season for West Brom, earning him his first England call-up last break. Despite being a more natural right-back, Gardner-Hickman has become a more versatile player, playing in central midfield, left-back as well as right midfield. He has had 14 Championship outings to date and has also been a key figure in the Baggies’ Premier League 2 campaign.
Photo: Naomi Baker
Ogbeta made a League One switch from Shrewsbury in January to join Swansea. The left-back struggled at Wales after picking up a hamstring injury in his first training session with Russell Martin’s side but has since recovered to appear in the last two games Swans Championship.
Photo: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC
The highly touted centre-back joined Championship top-flight Bournemouth in January after a £1million move from Fleetwood. The 20-year-old caught the eye of Southampton, Sheffield United and even Barcelona before signing a deal at Vitality Stadium. Having made 16 appearances for Cod Army before his switch, the young defender has only appeared twice for the Cherries but boss Scot Parker believes Bournemouth is the best place for his development.
Photo: Julian Finney