Late Pompey Goal Sinks Struggling Middlesbrough

Portsmouth's Championship survival hopes received a significant boost after they scored a late winner against Middlesbrough, dealing a major blow to the hosts' fading automatic promotion bid. The visitors didn't have a shot on target until the final seconds, ending an eight-game winless streak for John Mousinho's side. Middlesbrough are now winless in six games and trail second-placed Ipswich by three points, with Ipswich having two games in hand. Portsmouth were on the verge of falling into the relegation zone until Conor Chaplin's winner, which keeps them a point and a place above the bottom three. Despite having 20 shots to Portsmouth's three, Middlesbrough have scored just four goals in their last six games. The home side started well, with Alan Browne forcing an early save from Nicolas Schmid, but they struggled to create meaningful openings. Middlesbrough had several chances to break the deadlock, including a two-on-one attack, but they were unable to capitalize. Portsmouth launched a rare attack and scored the winner in stoppage time, with Chaplin's strike deflecting in off a teammate. Middlesbrough's Kim Hellberg expressed disappointment with the performance, describing it as 'poor' and 'boring,' while Portsmouth's John Mousinho hailed the result as 'amazing' and a 'brilliant three points.'