Pompey are forced to settle for a point on Boxing Day after a frustrating second half against Queens Park Rangers at Fratton Park.
A first-half strike from Terry Devlin on the cusp of the half-time whistle was cancelled out in the second half by a header from Jimmy Dunne.
Despite Portsmouth settling for a point, Oxford’s 2-1 win at home to Southampton means that it is the Blues that drop back into the bottom 3 on goal difference.
There were 2 changes to the side that drew 1-1 away at Derby County last Saturday.
Zak Swanson returned to the XI for Jordan Williams, and Harvey Blair made his first start of the season instead of the absent Josh Murphy.
The Blues started the first half off brightly, with spells from Harvey Blair on the left wing posing problems for Rangers right-back Amadou Mbengue.
Colby Bishop almost ended his 4-month goal drought, but his header from Conor Chaplin’s corner smacked the post of Ben Hamer’s net.
Pompey eventually found a breakthrough via a parried corner, when Richard Kone’s short clearance away from goal fell the way of Devlin, who thumped the ball home to make it 1-0 right on the 45th minute.
HALF-TME: Portsmouth 1-0 QPR
Mousinho made the safe call to carefully manage the minutes of winger Harvey Blair, who was subbed off for Adrian Segečic on 59 minutes.
Moments later, the visitors managed to equalise via a set piece, when captain Jimmy Dunne freely headed home Nicolas Madsen’s corner to make it 1-1, just past the hour mark.
The rest of the second half consisted of Pompey wishing they had taken their opportunities in the first to have gone 2 or 3 up, as R's slowly crept on top of the Blues for portions of the final half an hour.
After the equaliser, both Márk Kosznovszky and Conor Chaplin were the final two subs of the afternoon, with the duo being replaced by both Marlon Pack and Yang Minhyeok.
Former Portsmouth loanee Issac Hayden was one of five subs made by head coach Julien Stéphan, but ultimately neither side was able to carve out a winning goal despite the six minutes of added time.
FULL-TIME: Portsmouth 1-1 QPR
Next up: Portsmouth will end 2026 at Fratton Park, this time welcoming Nathan Jones’ Charlton Athletic on Monday night in a 19:45 kick-off.
The Addicks are currently sat 18th in the Championship and come into Monday’s tie off the back of a 1-0 defeat away to Norwich City.
November 11th, 2023, in Pompey’s League One title season, was the last time the two locked horns in PO4, where Connor McGrandles cancelled out Colby Bishop’s winning penalty in the 90+3rd minute.
Portsmouth: 1. Schmid (GK), 24. Devlin, 5. Poole, 14. Matthews, 22. Swanson, 8. Kosznovszky, (7. Pack), 21. Dozzell, 36. Chaplin (47. Minhyeok), 49. Lang, 29. Blair (10. Segečic), 9. Bishop (C) (Formation: 4-2-3-1)
Unused subs: 26. Bursik (GK), 2. Williams, 8. Swift, 15. Umeh, 17. Bowat, 25. Kirk
Goals: Devlin 45’
Bookings: Segečic 62’
Head coach: John Mousinho
QPR: 29. Hamer (GK), 27. Mbengue, 3. Dunne (C), 6. Clarke-Salter, 18. Norrington-Davies (8. Field), 40. Varane (15. Hayden), 24. Madsen, 7. Dembele (17. Poku), 14. Saitō (11. Smyth), 22. Kone (12. Frey), 16. Burrell (Formation: 4-4-2)
Unused subs: 1. Nardi (GK), 5. Cook, 4. Morrison, 21. Morgan
Goals: Dunne 61’
Bookings: Hayden 87’, Norrington-Davies 88’
Head coach: Julien Stéphan
Referee: James Linington
Venue: Fratton Park
Attendance: 20,499 (including 1,926 QPR fans)
The Pompey Live: Extra-Time podcast from this afternoon's broadcast is now available to listen back to! Jake Smith was joined in the PO4 press box by Kirsty Roxanne and James Wilson.
Be sure to tune in to the next episode of The Football Hour on Express FM this Sunday (December 28th) evening from 6pm for further reaction to the game and a preview of Monday night's clash with Charlton Athletic at Fratton Park, Pompey's final match of the year.
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