Portsmouth

Tom Chappell
Fan writer from Fournilwrittenalloverit

Image source, PA Media

Saturday was easily Portsmouth's best win of the season, and perhaps a show of faith to ourselves that we are a team. Not only capable of going toe-to-toe with some of the division's best, but also the ability to go one better and beat them.

At last, Pompey's season may well have officially begun, via the medium of a result and performance that was overdue, particularly at Fratton Park.

Pompey grew into the first half nicely. Whilst Middlesbrough were early off the blocks, we dealt with the pressure suitably, and once we scored, looked the better side until half-time.

When a side flying at the top of the division visits, there is always going to be moments of pressure and spells of stress - but I felt we dealt with that sternly, and were defensively excellent.

Any interjections keeper Josef Bursik had to make were measured and well-timed, without him really needing to be properly relied upon. Regan Poole and Josh Knight have devised a strong centre-back partnership in no time. And it was another strong day for full-backs Jordan Williams and Connor Ogilvie.

Marlon Pack provided another elegant, professional display in midfield - his talent for playing a pass over the top, cutting out four players, and immediately placing Pompey on the front foot is remarkable. Many will be calling on John Swift for a bit more by way of input, but it is important to say that his performance dramatically improved from that of Wednesday night in the draw against Watford.

Colby Bishop had a proper task against some of the division's most experienced defensive operators, and I am convinced that very soon Conor Chaplin's second Pompey stint will click into gear. He very nearly scored twice on Saturday.

Yang Min-hyeok's winner was struck with such finesse and accuracy. He has got a natural eye for the back of the net, and his return for goals this week demonstrates that. Another gem of a player that, if provided time, could prove to be a real difference-maker for Pompey this season.

This is all with the underscore that Josh Murphy, Callum Lang and Conor Shaughnessy will all (some sooner rather than later) return, and be ready for involvement once more.

Pompey did what Pompey often do. When you least expect a big result such as Saturday, we have a tendency to pull it out of the bag. There certainly will not have been many expecting Saturday's result pre-game, even more so given the manner in which it came.

And just to close, a word on some upsetting news after the game. Milan Mandaric was one of the greatest custodians of Portsmouth Football Club, and to hear of his passing is incredibly sad.

'He woke us up and even took us up' - there's only one Milan.

Image source, Rex Features

Marlon Pack's return to the Portsmouth side is important for their prospects this season, according to former Pompey midfielder Danny Rose.

The captain made his first two starts of the campaign in last Wednesday's draw with Watford and in the weekend win over Middlesbrough - and Rose was impressed with the impact Pack made in midfield on Saturday.

"He was really instrumental for many reasons," Rose told BBC Radio Solent's podcast Who Needs Mourinho?

"He was barking orders, demanding the ball, trying to make things tick which was impressive because against Middlesbrough it's difficult to do as they try to press and make it difficult but he was really brave."

Pack, 34, missed the start of the season after undergoing knee surgery but returned as a substitute at the end of September, scoring in a 2-1 loss at Ipswich - and Rose believes his impact is already being felt.

"I also picked up on the out-of-possession stuff with the press and shape - he was really orchestrating that and communicating when to press and when not to press, a lot of stuff that goes unnoticed," Rose said.

"Hopefully, Marlon can stay fit because he was instrumental in the first half (against Middlesbrough) and in the second helped the team manage the game well. I think just his presence in the middle of the pitch is important."

Listen to the full episode of Who Needs Mourinho? and more Portsmouth content on BBC Sounds.

Laura Kenyon
BBC Final Score reporter at Fratton Park

Image source, Getty Images

Portsmouth and Middlesbrough each had just one shot on target at Fratton Park. Safe to say neither side will be happy with that return – a stat which leaps out from the graphics page, and must surely be a thought-provoker for both managers.

The difference, though is, Pompey took that solitary moment, converted it, and came away with all three points. Boro did not, and it cost them not only their place at the top of the table, but their unbeaten start to the Championship season.

Rob Edwards spoke about it after the game, saying they were not good enough in the final third, despite making multiple attacking changes.

It poses two key questions: who will emerge as Middlesbrough's prolific goalscorer this season, and could unlocking that be pivotal in their bid for automatic promotion?

Former Portsmouth owner Milan Mandaric understood what it meant to be a supporter of the club, according to BBC Radio Solent commentator Andrew Moon.

Mandaric has died at the age of 87 having owned Pompey from 1999 to 2006, during which time he saved the club from going out of business and oversaw a promotion to the Premier League in 2003.

"Nowadays there are loads of football club owners who you don't know what their voices sound like, they can be pretty faceless," said Moon on the latest edition of BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth podcast, Who Needs Mourinho?

"We all know what Milan sounded like and there were elements of him in an owner of what you didn't want in an owner - he was temperamental, probably sacked managers too quickly, he was not a level head with a win or a loss - he was up, he was down.

"But he got it, he got Portsmouth Football Club, he got the city, he got what success would mean."

You can listen to the latest episode of Who Needs Mourinho? and past editions on BBC Sounds

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho spoke to BBC Radio Solent after their 1-0 win over Middlesbrough:

"We spoke on Thursday about the importance of this game and how it would shape how the start of the season for us has been mentally.

"Getting the win was great, and it feels like we have had a good start to the season. Results matter in this game and today we managed to get the job done.

"We knew it was going to be tough and once we settled into the game I thought we were really good.

"My overall thoughts was that it was a brilliant performance and there was loads of improvements from Wednesday night against Watford."

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

Image source, Rex Features

A much needed win for Portsmouth. Just like Wednesday, they led 1-0 at half-time. This time they made it count.

It wasn't a particularly pretty second-half showing. Middlesbrough were the better side, however Pompey dug in, kept their discipline and ensured goalkeeper Josef Bursik wasn't overworked.

Defensively Josh Knight has slotted in well in the absence of Conor Shaughnessy. Yang Min-hyeok isn't going to replace Josh Murphy, no one will, but two goals in four games is very encouraging.

12 points from nine games is a fair reflection for Portsmouth's start to the season. On their day they can match anyone in the division but when not at their best, they will struggle.

The defensive record is excellent, in front of goal they can improve. Murphy's return will help. If they can get Conor Chaplin and Colby Bishop firing they can be a force in the Championship.

These two are on very different trajectories heading into their game at Fratton Park.

Middlesbrough remain unbeaten and head the table by two points while Portsmouth have taken only two points from their past four games.

This will be only the third league meeting between the sides in 13 years with Pompey taking four points from last season's two games.

• Portsmouth have lost just one of their past eight league games against Middlesbrough (W2 D5), a 3-1 defeat in March 2012.

• Middlesbrough have won just two of their past 13 away league games against Portsmouth (D4 L7).

• Portsmouth have lost each of their past two league matches played on a Saturday and could lose three on the bounce on this day for the first time since February 2022.

• Middlesbrough are unbeaten in all eight of their Championship games this season (W5 D3), last having a longer run without defeat from the start of a campaign in 2011-12 (11).

• Middlesbrough have earned eight points away from home in the Championship this season (W2 D2), more than they had in their final 11 on the road in 2024-25 (W2 D1 L8).

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has admitted his frustration surrounding the injury to winger Josh Murphy.

Murphy has missed the last three Championship fixtures after suffering an ankle injury, last featuring in the South Coast derby against Southampton.

"It's a frustrating one, it's sort of day to day and week to week, and it's just not quite right at the moment so it's definitely not one where we're going to risk it." Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"We're still looking to push things but it's a frustrating one for both parties where we seem close and then far away and day to day we take a judgement on where he is and how fit he is.

"It's not more serious, it's just a little niggly one that we can't quite get right at the moment."

Mousinho also gave an injury update before Pompey's next Championship assignment against Middlesbrough on Saturday (15:00 BST) at Fratton Park, with no fresh concerns.

Harvey Blair replaced Yang Min-hyeok on 63 minutes during Wednesday's 2-2 draw against Watford to make his first appearance of the season.

Jordan Williams also made way for Terry Devlin on 72 minutes after having started his first game since a 2-1 loss against Norwich in August.

"We've got a clean bill of health from last night, it was good to see Harvey get the minutes and get through that," Mousinho added.

"All the other substitutions were tactical, so Jordan [Williams] was flagging a bit, the amount of physical output that we needed from him going up and down that right hand flank particularly with the way we were trying to play meant that we decided to make that substitution."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.

Portsmouth attacker Adrian Segecic believes there are lessons to learn after he scored the equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Watford at Fratton Park.

Pompey took the lead inside the opening five minutes through Yang Min-hyeok, before two Watford goals in ten minutes at the start of the second half from Imran Louza and Rocco Vata, rocked John Mousinho's side.

The Portsmouth head coach brought on Segecic after 63 minutes, whose left-footed strike levelled the game.

"I thought the boys in the first half played really well actually," Segecic told BBC Radio Solent.

"I thought that we could have had a few more - that's what kills the game off and makes it two, three, four, five.

"But in the second half we gave the game away in about 30 seconds and then we're fighting back all second half.

"So a good first half where I thought we played well - just a few lessons we need to learn."

Australian Segecic signed for Pompey from Sydney FC in the summer and has scored three goals in the opening eight Championship games.

The 21-year-old has seemed to adjust to life in the Championship well and has an understanding of the cruel nature of the division.

"Sitting on the bench, I'm thinking how quickly the game can change and I thought towards the end we started to play like we did in the first half again," he said.

"The boys got back into the game, so it's one of those where if you switch off in the Championship for a few minutes you get punished.

"We're close to them on the ladder so it's not only the point that we get but it's taking two away from them as well. Also it's something we can learn from and build on now on the weekend.

"Middlesbrough haven't been beaten yet so I think it's a perfect chance here to do it."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

Image source, Rex Features

Wednesday's 2-2 draw against Watford summed up where Portsmouth are as a team at the moment.

There were spells of encouragement and promising moments but also a number of points of concern.

A more-than-decent first-half performance put Pompey in a winning position, only for them to concede two sloppy goals on the counter-attack.

Pompey need to find a way to win games like this if they want to reach the next level as a side.

It was, though, a fascinating spectacle with both teams seeming capable of stealing a late winner.

Adrian Segecic found himself on the Blues bench after a couple of quiet games but showed again he can be a difference-maker.

Conor Chaplin hasn't quite been able to make the impact he would have hoped at the start of his Pompey career. Helping him get back near his best will make a huge difference.

Watford will be looking for back-to-back wins when they travel to Portsmouth on Wednesday (19:45 BST).

Portsmouth are seeking their first win in three games following a draw against Southampton and two consecutive defeats against Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town on Saturday.

The Hornets will be looking to claim their first away win of the Championship season and make it two wins in a row, after Saturday's comeback victory against Hull City.

● After their 1-0 win in April, Portsmouth could win back-to-back league meetings with Watford for the first time since April 1996 (3 in a row).

● The side playing at home has won each of the last eight league matches between Portsmouth and Watford, with the Hornets losing each of their last five away to Pompey.

● Portsmouth have lost two of their three home league games this season (W1) and could lose back-to-back home league matches for the first time since September 2024.

● Watford have lost seven of their last eight away league games (D1), with each defeat coming by a one-goal margin.

● Watford are winless in their last nine midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) away league outings (D4 L5) since a 1-0 triumph at Swansea in October 2023.

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth are having to adjust their game plan in the absence of winger Josh Murphy, says boss John Mousinho.

The 30-year-old has missed the past two Championship matches because of an ankle injury and Mousinho is far from certain he will return for Wednesday's home meeting with Watford.

"We're day-to-day with him at the minute, just depending on how things settle down," the Pompey head coach told BBC Radio Solent.

"It's a little bit frustrating for us at the minute but we'll hopefully have him back sooner rather than later."

Portsmouth have lost both their games in Murphy's absence and Mousinho says that has brought a change to the way they approach things.

"It's not ideal, you want to have your best players available all the time so we won't hide it behind it and say we're not missing Josh to a certain extent.

"It's about adjusting slightly the game plan, adjusting how we're going to get into decent goalscoring positions and really trusting players to come into his position and other positions and affect the game.

"We did manage to do it early in the season with a win against Oxford so we've put in a positive performance, won a game and scored goals in his absence," he added.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Pompey commentator

Image source, Rex Features

This was no humiliation for Portsmouth but they were comfortably beaten by a side who were simply better, particularly in the final third.

Without Josh Murphy due to injury and Conor Chaplin because he's on loan from Ipswich it was always going to be tricky breaking Ipswich down. The big chance fell to Yang Min-hyeok but he couldn't quite decide what to do when through on goal.

Both Yang Min-hyeok and Florian Bianchini have shown the odd bright moment this season but neither have been able to find the net and take their chance when given a start. Lifting the scoring burden from Colby Bishop and Murphy would be a huge help to the side.

Marlon Pack did find the net and was impressive coming off the bench. John Mousinho will have to decide whether to start him against Watford on Wednesday. Pack's range of passing and technical skills bring something different to Pompey's midfield.

Consecutive defeats puts some pressure on the Blues for Wednesday. They need to beat Watford or their encouraging start will feel a long time ago.

Image source, Rex Features

Manager John Mousinho spoke to BBC Radio Solent after Portsmouth were beaten 2-1 at Ipswich Town.

"The result is really disappointing. the performance was a contrast in the two halves, and that is the frustrating thing – we waited to go 2-0 down to really play," he said.

"Or at least 1-0 down, because once we went a goal down we settled into the game and we were fine in the first half.

"We had a really good chance to level things up and a couple of opportunities on the break, but we probably lacked that belief to actually put the ball in the back of the net or create a little more going forward

"We got on the ball a lot more in the second half and we showed we can play and were much better."

Portsmouth will seek yet more away game celebrations when they visit Ipswich Town on Saturday (15:00 BST) for their first meeting in over a decade.

Pompey won just three games on the road last season compared to 11 at Fratton Park but are seeing a reversal this season, with the side losing two games at home but none away from home.

Ipswich will be keen to deliver that first away defeat and add a successive second win to their season - albeit the side were struggling against Blackburn Rovers last time out before the unruly weather forced an abandonment.

• Ipswich are unbeaten in their last four league games against Portsmouth (W2 D2), all in League One between 2021 and 2022.

• This will be the first Championship meeting between Ipswich and Portsmouth since 2011-12, with the Tractor Boys winning 1-0 home and away that season.

• Following a 5-0 win against Sheffield United last time out, Ipswich are looking to win consecutive league games for the first time since May 2024.

• Having lost 11 of their 12 away league games from December to April 9th (W1), Portsmouth are now unbeaten in five on the road (W2 D3).

• No team's Championship games this season have seen fewer goals than Portsmouth's (9 – F4 A5). Indeed, only Sheffield United (1.4%) have a lower shot conversion rate than Pompey (4.9%).

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth defender Conor Shaughnessy is facing a spell on the sidelines but forward Josh Murphy could return for this weekend's Championship trip to Ipswich.

Shaughnessy was forced off in the second half of last Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday with a hamstring injury and Pompey boss John Mousinho has revealed they won't be seeing him back in action for a while.

"We're not sure on the extent of it yet," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"We're waiting to see a specialist off the back of the scan but he's definitely out for the short to medium term."

The head coach has been able to provide better news on winger Murphy who missed last weekend's loss because of an ankle problem and forward Harvey Blair who is yet to make an appearance this season.

"Josh Murphy is 50/50 - he's going to train on Friday and we'll see where he's at for the game on Saturday," added Mousinho.

"Harvey is back in full training but Saturday is probably a step too far so we'll look to get him back in for Watford (1 October) or Middlesbrough (4 October)."

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth have worked hard to to improve their away form at the start of the Championship campaign, says boss John Mousinho.

Only relegated Plymouth (12) took fewer points on the road than Pompey's 14 last season where they also managed just three wins, but the head coach believes the turning point came after a 5-1 hammering at West Brom in January

"We tried to improve the away form and towards the back end of last season we did improve it, just not in terms of results but also with performances," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"It wasn't good enough, we still wanted to win but we never lost by more than a goal but then managed to turn the corner with a positive result at Norwich (5-3 win) and a point at Sheffield Wednesday."

Portsmouth visit Ipswich in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 BST) having gone unbeaten on their travels so far and Mousinho says it's not an accident.

"It's been a lot more positive at the start of this season with a couple of draws and a win at Oxford," he added.

"We've just tried to be more solid and we've got a defined identity out of possession which we didn't have at the start of last year so we want to try to build on that."