Portsmouth 3 Sheffield United 2: Neil Allen's verdict: Blues talisman spares blushes after more 10-men struggles

The talismanic Ebou Adams swooped to Pompey’s rescue at the death as finally they conquered 10-men.

The Blues deservedly found themselves leading Sheffield United 2-0 after 54 minutes, with the added bonus of having the numerical advantage.

Indeed, Hamza Choudhury’s dismissal - following two bookings collected for fouls on Ryan Kavuma-McQueen - had arrived just three minutes after Zak Swanson’s spectacular opener.

Unlike the south-coast derby, John Mousinho’s men possessed a 1-0 lead when challenged with 10-men, yet it made the subsequent capitulation even more spectacular.

From nowhere, the Blades grabbed two goals in eight minutes, through Japhet Tanganga and Tom Cannon, and suddenly Fratton Park was stunned.

Subs were thrown on, including Keshi Anderson, who later departed with another injury, patience was waning, groans and moans from the home support, these were desperate times.

Then, on 89 minutes, Adrian Segecic, scorer of the second goal, put in a cross from the right and there was Adams, with a first-time shot which found the net.

Dropped to the bench after St Mary’s, despite being Pompey’s best outfield player on the day, the former Derby man had been introduced in the 69th minute, with the scoreline 2-2 at the time.

Now he was the match winner - and the Blues registered only their third victory in all competitions of a stuttering season.

Mousinho made three changes to the side which lost 1-0 against 10-man Southampton on Sunday.

Iyad Mohamed was handed a first Pompey start, after three previous outings from the bench since his arrival from Portugal late in the transfer window.

There were recalls for Adrian Segecic and Marko Milovanovic, with Ebou Adams and Colby Bishop moving to the bench.

Tyrese Shade had also been dropped, although, having initially been named among the substitutes, was replaced by Ben Killip an hour before kick-off in a late change.

With Daniel Bielica already on the bench, it meant Pompey had named two goalkeepers among their nine substitutes.

Fratton Park was a little flat at kick-off, but it finally ignited on five minutes when a wonderful piece of control from Kavuma-McQueen on the edge of the box launched an attack.

Driving forward, his shot took a deflection, earning the Blues the match’s first corner, with the home fans immediately responding in song.

However, there was little quality on show during a chaotic opening, and, on 16 minutes, Nicolas Schmid was called upon to make an angled stop from Tom Cannon.

At the other end, Abu Kamara made a superb driving run from deep, beating a man before slipping the ball to his left as he approached the penalty area.

Although Kavuma-McQueen appeared to be the desired target, Milovanovic instead seized control and his shot was blocked by Japhet Tanganga.

The Blades should really have gone ahead on 22 minutes when Sydie Peck’s cross from the right was not dealt with by Schmid, yet Patrick Bamford somehow put it over from a few yards at the far post.

As half-time approached, neither goalkeeper had seriously been tested - then the deadlock was broken in stunning style.

Swanson had remained on the left flank following an earlier corner and, when Sydie Peck’s clearance found its way to him, he took four touches before crashing an unstoppable right-footed shot into the far top corner of the net.

It was a remarkable effort and, after 41 minutes of largely nothingness, the Blues had taken the lead spectacularly.

If that wasn’t painful enough for the Blades, they were down to 10-men just three minutes later, with Choudhury departing after a second yellow.

The outstanding Kavuma-McQueen put the ball through the legs of the make-shift right-back, only for the Sheffield United man to block him as he tried to run past.

Choudhury protested his innocence, but the red card emerged, and, after refusing to leave the pitch for a lengthy period, the visitors were a man down after 44 minutes.

The Blades made two substitutes at the break, with Bamford and Ben Brereton Dias replaced by Mark McGuinness and Kalvin Phillips, yet within minutes the Blues almost increased their lead.

Segecic put Kavuma-McQueen down the left and he drove into the box before cutting inside and curling a right-footed shot which flew narrowly over the bar.

Then Dia strode out of defence and put Kavuma-McQueen clear with just Michael Cooper to beat, yet the keeper saved the one-on-one as the visitors breathed a sigh of relief once more.

However, it was 2-0 after 54 minutes - with Kavuma-McQueen unsurprisingly at the heart of it.

The Chelsea loanee beat Tahith Chong to get to the left byline and drive the ball across where it was touched in from close range by Segeic.

Just five minutes later, though, and the Blades had reduced the deficit with Tanganga meeting a cross from the left with a smart first-time left-footed finish to make it 2-1.

Suddenly the visitors had a renewed belief and, on 67 minutes, they levelled when Kalvin Phillips’ right-wing corner was met with a glancing header from Cannon which went through Schmid’s legs and into the net.

Pompey responded with a triple substitution as Adams, Terry Devlin and Keshi Anderson replaced Mohamed, Kamara and Swanson as they sought to regain their lead.

On 78 minutes, Anderson brought a flying finger-tipped save from Cooper with a left-footed shot from outside the box as the hosts came close.

Still the Blues pushed and they lost Anderson to yet another injury with minutes remaining, replacing by Odin Bailey.

Then, on 89 minutes, Segecic crossed from the right and Adams was the hero to cap a huge win for the Blues.