Portsmouth end winless run in spectacular style in epic Fratton contest with Millwall
Pompey claimed a 3-1 victory against Millwall at Fratton Park, ending their six-game winless run.
Pompey picked up a much-needed triumph in a frantic Championship contest at Fratton Park against Millwall.
Zak Swanson’s thunderous first-half strike, along with efforts from Adrian Segecic and Jordan Williams, ensured the Blues picked up their first victory in six league games.
John Mousinho’s men did have to work hard for the maximum points, with Mihailo Ivanovic grabbing a goal for the 10-man Lions.
And It was a cagey start to proceedings at Fratton, with both sides showing no real quality in the opening 15 minutes of the match.
But Mousinho’s men grew into the contest and were showing promising signs of attacking threat going forward, with Murphy, Bianchini and Segecic all looking a threat on the wing.
Pompey did break the deadlock on 22 minutes, with Swanson firing a spectacular effort from around 20-yards out. Although the right-back, who was deployed on the left-hand side in Connor Ogilvie’s absence, stole the headlines with his thunderous strike into the top corner, it was the build-up which was really impressive by the hosts.
Terry Devlin won the ball in the middle of the park before finding Murphy on the left, who was able to lay off the 25-year-old before unleashing the strike.
After a stoppage in play, which saw Zak Sturge stretched off on 38 minutes, the Lions did come back into the contest and could’ve found a surprise equaliser just before the break.
Derek Mazou-Sacko received the ball on the edge of the box after a Millwall corner and hit a well-struck volley through a number of bodies. Schmid, who returned to the side after 10 games out with a hand injury, got down superbly to keep Pompey ahead going into the break.
It was the visitors who did start the second half the quickest, with Macauley Langstaff unlucky not to equalise. After Casper De-Norre found the forward in the box, his effort on goal was well-blocked by Regan Poole.
Despite that early pressure, the Blues doubled their lead on 51 minutes, with Segecic netting his fourth of the season. Murphy was able to put the Aussie talent through in the box and appeared to loop a cross into the back post to find Bishop.
His cross took a slight deflection from Tristian Crama, which was enough to lift the ball over Crocombe and double Pompey’s lead.
The biggest cheer of the second half, though, was the long-awaited return of Callum Lang, who was introduced on the hour mark as he completed his comeback from a three-month hamstring lay-off.
Moments later, the 27-year-old was in the heart of the action. As the forward broke into the Millwall half, he was brought down by a horrible challenge from Joe Bryan, who was given his marching orders with a straight red card.
But Neil’s men were not out of it and found a way back into the contest. Ivanovic grabbed his fourth goal of the season after sloppy defending from a corner by the Blues on 76 minutes.
Mousinho’s men were looking to put the game out of reach for the visitors and had opportunities through Lang, but were denied by Crocombe late on.
But Pompey did get that elusive third goal to kill the game, with substitute Williams netting a brilliant effort. After making a surging run from his own half, the left-back fired a powerful effort past the Millwall stopper to put the contest to bed.
That was enough for the Blues, who ended their six-game winless run in spectacular fashion in front of 20, 423 at Fratton.