Late Pompey Goal Sinks Fading Boro

In a dramatic turn of events, Portsmouth scored a late goal to secure a crucial victory over Middlesbrough, boosting their Championship survival hopes and inflicting significant damage on Boro's fading automatic promotion bid. The winning goal came in the seventh minute of stoppage time, with Conor Chaplin's strike deflecting in off Andre Dozzell to end Portsmouth's eight-game winless run. Middlesbrough, now winless in six games, remain three points behind second-placed Ipswich, who have two games in hand. Despite dominating possession, Boro struggled to create meaningful scoring opportunities, managing only four goals in their last six games. Portsmouth's victory keeps them a point and a place above the relegation zone, while Boro's poor performance has left them reeling. The match saw several close calls, including a glorious chance for Boro's Tommy Conway, who opted to pass rather than shoot, and a late attempt by Sontje Hansen that was cleared off the line. Portsmouth's rare attack midway through the second half saw Terry Devlin pick out Colby Bishop, but the striker's audacious flick went wide. In the end, it was Portsmouth who emerged victorious, with their late goal securing a vital three points. Middlesbrough's Kim Hellberg expressed his disappointment with the team's performance, calling it 'poor' and 'devastating,' while Portsmouth's John Mousinho hailed the result as 'amazing' and a 'brilliant three points' for his team.