Colby Bishop scored a late equaliser to earn Portsmouth a 2-2 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Fratton Park on Saturday. The result leaves John Mousinho's side 18th in the Championship on seven points after six games.
Zak Swanson gave Pompey a dream start, finishing from close range after just four minutes. Tyrese Shade's cross from the left was only half-cleared by Sean McLoughlin and Swanson was quickest to react. The lead lasted just seven minutes. Blackburn captain Todd Cantwell found space and Harry Pickering's chipped ball was converted by Oladapo Afolayan for his third goal in two games.
Portsmouth struggled to regain control after the quick equaliser. The visitors took the lead in the 56th minute when Afolayan turned provider, setting up Ryoya Morishita to finish. Conor Shaughnessy was forced off injured after an hour, pulling up unchallenged, which disrupted the home side's defensive shape.
Bishop's intervention
Mousinho's team found a response. In the 74th minute, a right-footed effort from Ryan Kavuma-McQueen took a key deflection off Bishop and flew past goalkeeper Balazs Toth. The striker's intervention secured a valuable point. Portsmouth had further chances to win it, with Abu Kamara denied by a superb sliding challenge from Pickering and Bishop himself going close again.
"It was a frustrating afternoon with the fact we went a goal up, controlled the game but didn't win," said manager John Mousinho. He had made three changes from the goalless draw at Charlton, with Bishop among those coming into the lineup. The point extends Portsmouth's recent form to one win, two draws and two losses from their last five matches.
Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray was pragmatic. "We'll put the point in the bag and move on to the next game," he said. His side were without Yuri Ribeiro due to a hamstring issue, with Pickering coming into the defence.
Portsmouth's injury list remains a concern, with Connor Ogilvie, Franco Umeh, Josh Murphy, Keshi Anderson, Luke Brooke-Smith and Márk Kosznovszky all currently sidelined. The team now heads into the first international break with a record of two wins, one draw and three losses. They have scored seven goals and conceded eight so far this season.
Their next Championship fixture is a south coast derby away to Southampton on 11 October.
The original report is at Sky Sports Football
