Portsmouth 2-1 Rochdale

  • Published

Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley maintained his 100% record as the promotion hopefuls cemented their place in the top six with a comfortable win over bottom club Rochdale.

Goals from Ryan Williams and Ronan Curtis made it three wins from three since Cowley took charge at Fratton Park.

Jake Beesley's stoppage-time strike proved no more than a consolation goal for the visitors.

Despite playing without a recognised striker, Pompey took just five minutes to open the scoring.

Marcus Harness picked out Williams with a perfectly-weighted cross and the Australian tapped home from close range.

The home side doubled their lead eight minutes before half-time when Curtis finished calmly after racing onto a Michael Jacobs through ball.

Rochdale's only chance of the first half came in the final minute when Beesley latched onto a long ball but was foiled by Pompey goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray.

Beesley's close-range effort in the third minute of stoppage time proved too little too late for Dale to mount an unlikely comeback.

Match report supplied by PA Media.

Sorry, we can't display this part of the article any more.

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.