The Blues came into the match knowing that victory would take them five points clear of third-place Millwall with a game in hand, but a quickfire double from Conor Shaughnessy and Colby Bishop gave Pompey a commanding lead at the end of the second half.
Town changed things up with substitutions after the interval, but it did nothing to change the momentum of the match as the hosts ran out winners on the South Coast.
Leif Davis missed the game due to the birth of his child (Image: Ross Halls)
TEAM NEWS
Kieran McKenna made five changes to the team that won the East Anglian derby 2-0 at Carrow Road.
Christian Walton continued in goal, playing behind a back line of Darnell Furlong, Dara O’Shea, Cedric Kipre and Jacob Greaves, with Leif Davis absent from the squad following the birth of his first child.
Azor Matusiwa partnered Dan Neil in midfield. Kasey McAteer, Marcelino Nunez and Jack Clarke supported lone striker George Hirst.
Jens Cajuste returned to the matchday squad with a place on the bench.
Portsmouth XI: 4-2-3-1: Schmid; Devlin, Poole, Shaughnessy, Williams; Pack, Dozzell; Segecic (Brown 84′), Swift (Anderson 71′), Alli (Bowat 90+4′); Bishop
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Walton; Furlong (Johnson 58′), O’Shea, Kipre, Greaves; Matusiwa (Mehmeti 58′), Neil (Akpom 71′); McAteer (Philogene 58′), Nunez, Clarke (Walle Egeli 71′), Hirst
Town struggled to create chances in the first half (Image: Steve Waller)
SLOW AND STEADY
Town, wearing their red away shirt and shorts, with blue socks, tried to dictate the early momentum, but they came close to gifting Portsmouth an early chance after failing to clear an early free-kick, with O’Shea rushing in to fire the ball away before Walton could be tested.
Town almost turned the tables in the sixth minute. McAteer found space to attack down the right, cutting the ball back for Hirst, who took aim, only to be denied by a big block from Shaughnessy. Pompey cleared the resulting corner.
The hosts responded with an even bigger opportunity in the 18th minute. Swift was left in acres of space when he received the ball in the middle of the pitch, turning to set up Jordan Williams down the left. The right-back, playing out of position on the opposite side, cut in and fired a strike past Walton. Bishop almost made contact with a header that could’ve taken it in.
Town struggled to create. Clarke came in narrow and Greaves’ marauding runs from left-back led to little. The former was sloppy on the ball, which gifted Pompey good chances. The Blues’ best opportunities came from set pieces.
Portsmouth could’ve had the lead in the 26th minute. Millenic Alli burst down the left after Neil gave the ball away, forcing Walton into a save from a tight angle. Swift, somehow, couldn’t fire the rebound into the net.
Two quickfire goals saw the Blues trail at the interval (Image: Steve Waller)
TWO-MINUTE COLLAPSE
Town settled a bit. Kipre’s ball from deep on the half-hour mark almost allowed Nunez to capitalise in the box, but he couldn’t control it. Two minutes later, Hirst fired another deflected shot at goal, this time held by Nicolas Schmid.
Pompey kept threatening from Ipswich’s slip-ups, without really creating chances. A good one came in the 42nd minute, when Terry Devlin fired a cross out of play off Greaves for a corner.
Adrian Segecic delivered from the right, with Shaughnessy breaking free from Hirst before heading in to open the scoring.
The home end erupted and got right behind their team as they pushed for more. That’s exactly what they got just two minutes later.
This time, it was a cross from former Town man – and son of Jason – Andre Dozzell, which Marlon Pack tried to attack. Swift slashed at the ball as it dropped.
However, Bishop popped home to stab past Walton to double the lead with his first home league goal of the season and his seventh career strike against Ipswich.
Ipswich’s substitutes did little to change the momentum of the game (Image: Steve Waller)
NO SIGNS OF LIFE
This was the game that Ipswich didn’t want. A hostile Fratton Park, tired legs following the Norwich City game and rain pouring down. The Blues’ passes were loose, their touches were heavy and they struggled to create anything.
Pompey played with intensity and clarity. McKenna had seen enough by the 58th minute and made a triple change.
On came Jaden Philogene, Anis Mehmeti and Ben Johnson. McAteer, Matusiwa and Furlong were withdraw. Johnson ended up playing at left-back, with Greaves and Kipre partnering each other at centre-back while O’Shea moved to right-back.
It did little to change the momentum of the game. A Portsmouth third felt more likely than an Ipswich comeback.
Ipswich’s first shot on target came in the 67th minute as Mehmeti fired into the gloves of Schmid from range. Four minutes later, McKenna introduced Chuba Akpom and Sindre Walle Egeli for Neil and Clarke.
George Hirst’s second half header was one of Town’s better chances (Image: Steve Waller)
SOUTH COAST SLIP-UP
Town’s toothless nature was highlighted in the 75th minute as Mehmeti drove forward through the middle. With little on either side of him, he went for goal, but his low shot bobbled well wide.
With the clock ticking towards full-time, Portsmouth fans grew in confidence, chanting: ‘We are staying up’. Their team didn’t tire, despite the long round trip to Middlesbrough over the weekend.
Town, despite the substitutions and attacking lineup, looked shattered and out of ideas. The final result felt like a formality, despite brief glimpses, like Hirst’s wayward header in the 86th minute.
Even if Ipswich did get one, finding a second to tie the game would’ve been more than a mountain to climb. In the end, they were unable to get on the scoresheet at all, despite O’Shea seeing a shot cleared off the line.
The result wasn’t flattering for Portsmouth in the slightest – they thoroughly deserved it.