Adrian Segecic kept his impressive end‑of‑campaign run alive as Portsmouth managed to secure a lively 1‑1 stalemate against Birmingham at Fratton Park. The south‑coast side seized the initiative early, with Segecic finding the back of the net just eight minutes after kickoff. He met a low cross from Jordan Williams inside the penalty area and slotted the ball home from roughly 12 yards out, giving the hosts an early advantage.
The strike marked the Australian‑born Croatian's 11th goal of his debut Sky Bet Championship season and his fifth in his last three outings, underscoring how vital he has become to Portsmouth's attack. Shortly after, Jay Stansfield appeared to level the score when his free‑kick header from a corner drifted wide, only for Birmingham keeper James Beadle to intervene at Segecic's feet and keep the ball out of danger. Birmingham responded in the 19th minute when August Priske rose above the defence to connect with a Kai Wagner corner, directing a powerful header into the far post.
The visitors continued to press, but Portsmouth suffered a setback when midfielder John Swift was forced off with an injury midway through the first half, reducing their creative options. In the latter stages of the opening half, stand‑in goalkeeper Ben Killip produced a reflex save to deny Ibrahim Osman, who was shooting from a very tight angle.
The half concluded with Killip again proving his worth, parrying a sharp left‑foot strike from Carlos Vicente that came from the centre of the box. A late substitution saw Conor Chaplin unleash a long‑range effort that narrowly missed the target as the whistle blew for halftime.
The second half began with Birmingham creating a golden opportunity just seven minutes in. Osman failed to convert a well‑placed cross from Bright Osayi‑Samuel, sending the ball over the bar. Shortly thereafter, Beadle made a quick reaction save to stop Chaplin's powerful 20‑yard volley, preserving the one‑goal lead for the home side. Portsmouth appealed for a penalty when Segecic was brought down by Vicente inside the box, but referee John Brooks judged the foul to have occurred outside the area and awarded a free‑kick instead.
Tensions rose in the final ten minutes when Segecic, after retrieving the ball following a stoppage for an injury to Birmingham defender Christoph Klarer, launched a shot that flew just over the bar. A brief melee ensued, during which a home supporter entered the pitch, prompting the referee to issue Segecic a yellow card for his involvement.
Birmingham's midfielder Tommy Doyle came close to a winner in the 88th minute, striking from the edge of the box but failing to find the net. The match ultimately finished level, meaning Portsmouth concluded their campaign with only one defeat in their last eight fixtures.
However, uncertainty lingers over the future of manager John Mousinho, who has been linked with a possible departure this summer. Mousinho recently met with the club's owners to discuss long‑term plans, and during the post‑match interview he was greeted with chants of "one more year" from the Pompey faithful.
In the final league table, Birmingham secured a respectable 10th‑place finish in their first season back in the second tier, while Portsmouth ended up 18th, comfortably eight points above the relegation zone. Mousinho reflected on the season, stating, "The meetings were nothing about me.
We have not discussed my future once, quite rightly. It is all about the club and working together. It's close to £60 million the owners have put into the club.
They have always been willing to back us, but the difficulty is the Championship and that bite point between how much we spend and the risk of destabilising the club. We are going to try and come up with a solution, but the talks were about what we want to do with the football club over the next three to five years. In terms of today I thought we played well in patches, started well and got the goal we deserved. Individually the performance was pretty good but my issue was a lack of quality at times when the ball broke down.
We could have lost, could have won and everything in between, so a point was probably a fair result." Birmingham midfielder Chris Davies also shared his thoughts: "I think it's been a season of real growth for us all in the club. It was a real unknown coming back into the Championship, so for us to come up as a club and compete like we have done and finish 10th is something we should be really proud of.
It's been 10 years since the club has achieved that, so I'm proud of the players and I thank them for their efforts. I think we were the better team throughout the game. We started a little bit slowly and conceded a poor goal but grew back into it. We carried a threat throughout the match and had two or three big chances, so I'm disappointed we didn't actually end up winning that game with how we played." The match also featured promotional elements, reminding fans to use Chrome for a better video experience and encouraging downloads of the Sky Sports app and the NOW service to watch EFL coverage.
Additionally, a £250,000 Super 6 prize pool was highlighted, with entries due by 3 pm on Saturday, offering a free‑to‑play opportunity for supporters.