Portsmouth 0 Hull City 1: Neil Allen's verdict - Forget Adrian Segecic, wasteful Blues must blame themselves
John Mousinho’s men lost to substitute Matt Crooks’ 73rd-minute winner at Fratton Park
Adrian Segecic pulled the tracksuit hood over his head as he approached the crowd gathered outside the Fratton End entrance.
Perhaps it was intuitive, a subconscious belief that protection could be granted through anonymity, having spotted the mob positioned between the Australian and his Fratton Park getaway vehicle.
Cast as the villain of the peace whose two sloppy errors gifted Hull victory and inflicted an ill-deserved defeat on Pompey, the devastated 21-year-old must have been desperate to flee the scene of his crimes.
Not that he needed to have worried. After all, the group, composed mainly of youngsters, merely wanted Segecic’s autograph, rather than representing a lynching committee none-too-subtly lying in wait.
Naturally, he duly obliged. Once the hood had been removed, of course. Gone are the days when sneering Premier League footballers would pretend to be on their mobile phones to avoid interaction with the great unwashed.
There should be no Segecic witch hunt
As costly as his mistake was, in this instance being chiefly responsible for a 1-0 loss against a team mustering just two shorts over the match’s duration, the damage to his reputation is not irreparable.
Segecic remains the Blues’ six-goal leading scorer, having registered double the return of Colby Bishop during a maiden season in English football which has often seen him employed out of position.
In terms of successful signings in the summer of 2025, the former Sydney FC man and back-up keeper Josef Bursik are the only serious contenders. Which partly explains why Pompey currently find themselves in the predicament of a second successive Championship relegation battle.
The other ingredient in the Blues’ struggles is the relentless injury situation, with Josh Murphy becoming the latest casualty to be ruled out for the remainder of the season. In his case, it’s the little toe on his right foot, having not sufficiently healed since being sustained against Swansea in December.
Still, injuries weren’t responsible for Saturday’s slender loss to the high-flying Tigers. And while Segecic’s dreadful 73rd-minute mishap may dominate headlines, that wasn’t the sole reason.
Only themselves to blame
Pompey only have themselves to blame for a growing failure to be ruthless at Fratton Park in times of dominance, with Sheffield United and now Hull recently somehow escaping with a maximum points haul.
Granted, the attacker firstly carelessly lost possession outside the Blues’ penalty area after a ‘little flick with the outside of the boot’, according to a fuming Mousinho.
Then, having retrieved possession of the ball through an interception, he promptly underhit a backpass towards Nicolas Schmid, with Oli McBurnie sliding in to impede the goalkeeper’s clearance and then Matt Crooks steering a shot into an empty net.
Hull had their advantage, against the run of play and, from that point, Mousinho’s men had absolutely nothing to offer in terms of an equaliser as the fixture meandered to yet another win for the Championship’s away-day specialists.
It was a bout of deja-vu for the Fratton faithful, who agonisingly witnessed Sheffield United claim a stoppage-time victory on the counter-attack in the previous home fixture.
Although Hull’s decisive moment arrived with 17 minutes remaining, it represented another match in which Mousinho’s men dominated, yet were unable to capitalise on goal-scoring opportunities.
Bishop again firing blanks
Once again questions will rightly be raised over Bishop’s continued starting presence considering his paltry goal return this season and supposed striking competition Jacob Brown again named on the bench.
Yet on Saturday, Pompey’s creativity and attacking threat was also substandard in wide areas, with Millenic Alli having his poorest game yet in a Blues shirt, while Harvey Blair was preferred to Gustavo Caballero on the right.
Overall, Hull defended their penalty area with absolute ease and, except for several standard saves from keeper Ivor Pandur, they barely looked like being breached during the hosts’ 21 goal attempts.
Even the introduction of Caballero in the 58th minute failed to carve a way through, with the Paraguayan hobbling away from Fratton Park after the final whistle having, at one point in the match, gone down injured, beaten the ground in anger, before indicating he was fine to continue.
And while Pompey’s wing output was dismal, irrespective of personnel employed, there was also frustration over winning 11 corners and once more barely threatening from any of them, despite improved delivery from both sides by Segecic.
As ever, the scoreline generally dictates a supporter’s mood and, upon the 1-0 defeat, there were boos from some sections of Fratton Park. Unquestionably towards their team rather than referee Sam Allison on this occasion.
In truth, it was a dominant Blues performance against a side undefeated on their travels since November 4. Hull are also now fifth in the Championship, three points behind second-placed Middlesbrough and firmly entrenched in the battle to reach the Premier League.
Their approach suggested they came for a point, but actually departed with all three after Segecic’s generous gift. Yet, as a team, wasteful Pompey were architects of their own downfall - again.