Late Pompey Goal Sinks Struggling Middlesbrough

A late goal from Portsmouth has given their Championship survival hopes a significant boost, while dealing a major blow to Middlesbrough's fading automatic promotion bid. The visitors' winless streak was snapped at eight games, courtesy of a deflected volley from Andre Dozzell in the dying seconds, which came off Conor Chaplin. This result leaves Boro winless in six and 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 possession, Middlesbrough struggled to create meaningful scoring opportunities, managing just four goals in their last six games. The home side started strongly, with Alan Browne forcing an early save, but Portsmouth's defense held firm. Boro had several chances to take the lead, including a close-range header from Dael Fry and a two-on-one attack that was thwarted by Madiodio Dia. Portsmouth's rare attack in the second half saw Terry Devlin pick out Colby Bishop, but his audacious flick went wide. As the game neared its end, Sontje Hansen's shot was cleared off the line by Dozzell, setting the stage for the decisive corner that led to the winning goal. Middlesbrough's manager, Kim Hellberg, expressed disappointment with the performance, describing it as 'poor' and 'boring.' In contrast, Portsmouth's John Mousinho hailed the result as 'amazing' and a 'brilliant three points' that his team desperately needed.