Late Portsmouth Strike Downs Struggling Middlesbrough

In a dramatic turn of events, Portsmouth scored a decisive goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time, significantly boosting their chances of survival in the Championship and dealing a significant blow to Middlesbrough's fading hopes of automatic promotion. The visitors' first shot on target came in the final seconds, courtesy of Andre Dozzell's deflected volley off Conor Chaplin, ending an eight-game winless streak for John Mousinho's team. Middlesbrough's winless run now stands at six games, with the team three points behind second-placed Ipswich, who have two games in hand after their win at Norwich. Portsmouth's victory keeps them a point and a place above the relegation zone, thanks to Chaplin's winner. Despite dominating possession with 20 shots to Portsmouth's three, Boro have managed only four goals in their last six games, with two coming in a draw against Swansea. The home side started strongly, with Alan Browne forcing an early save from Nicolas Schmid, but they struggled to create meaningful opportunities. In the second half, Boro had several chances to take the lead, including a two-on-one attack sparked by Tommy Conway, but they failed to capitalize. Portsmouth launched a rare counterattack, and Terry Devlin found Colby Bishop, whose audacious flick went wide. As the game entered added time, Boro nearly broke through, but Sontje Hansen's shot was cleared off the line by Dozzell. Portsmouth then won a corner, and from the clearance, Dozzell's first-time strike deflected in off his teammate. Middlesbrough's Kim Hellberg expressed disappointment with the performance, describing the first half as 'terrible' and 'like watching paint dry.' He acknowledged that his team created enough chances in the second half but lacked efficiency. Portsmouth's John Mousinho hailed the result as 'amazing' and credited his team's defensive efforts, admitting they got lucky but deserved the three points against a strong Middlesbrough side.