In a dramatic turn of events, Portsmouth scored a late goal in stoppage time to boost their Championship survival hopes and deal a significant blow to Middlesbrough's fading automatic promotion bid. The visitors' winless streak ended with a deflected volley from Andre Dozzell off Conor Chaplin in the final seconds.
This result leaves Boro winless in six games, now three points behind second-placed Ipswich, who have two games in hand. Portsmouth's victory keeps them a point and a place above the relegation zone. Despite dominating the ball, Boro struggled to create meaningful openings, managing only four goals in their last six games. The home side's early efforts, including a shot from Alan Browne and a deflected header from Adilson Malanda, were the only notable chances in the first half.
Boro's best opportunities came in the second half, including a through-ball from David Strelec and a two-on-one attack, but they were unable to capitalize. Portsmouth launched a rare attack midway through the second half, but Colby Bishop's audacious flick went wide. In added time, Boro nearly forced a breakthrough, but Sontje Hansen's shot was cleared off the line by Dozzell. Portsmouth then won a corner, and Fry's headed clearance reached Dozzell, whose strike deflected in off his teammate.
Middlesbrough's manager, Kim Hellberg, expressed disappointment with the performance, citing a lack of energy and efficiency. Portsmouth's John Mousinho hailed the result as 'amazing' and acknowledged that his team got lucky, but emphasized the importance of picking up points at this stage of the season.