Portsmouth secured their inaugural Championship victory of the campaign by defeating Lincoln 3-1 in a convincing display at Sincil Bank. After stumbling in their opening two fixtures, both lost by identical scorelines, the Pompey side found themselves under pressure early on. However, a swift strike from Ryan Kavuma‑McQueen in the seventh minute gave them the early advantage they needed. Just nine minutes later Adrian Segecic added a second, extending the lead to 2-0.
Lincoln managed to pull one back before the half‑hour mark when Reeco Hackett converted a penalty, offering the Imps a glimmer of hope. The match was effectively sealed when substitute Ebrima Adams unleashed a superb long‑range effort in the 69th minute, restoring a comfortable margin and leaving Lincoln still searching for their first win since returning to the second tier over six decades ago. The Imps began the encounter brightly, earning a free‑kick just outside the box within the first two minutes. Adam Reach’s delivery was tipped over by Portsmouth goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid.
An early corner from Ivan Varfolomeev was cleared, but his subsequent set‑piece was met by captain Tendayi Darikwa, whose first‑time attempt was deflected away, resulting in another corner. Freddie Draper then set up Ben House, whose shot lacked the necessary power for Schmid to make an easy save. Portsmouth’s early breakthrough came as a lightning‑fast counter‑attack. The ball found Kavuma‑McQueen on the left edge of Lincoln’s penalty area, and he calmly slotted a low drive into the bottom corner, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead within minutes of kickoff.
Later, Colby Bishop’s looping header was gathered safely by Lincoln keeper George Wickens. Segecic, the Australian playmaker, responded by curling a powerful free‑kick from the edge of the box into the net with his left foot, making the score 2-0 after just 16 minutes. Lincoln’s consolation came from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute. Reach’s 20‑yard effort was judged to have been handled by Zak Swanson as he attempted to block the shot, awarding Hackett the spot‑kick, which he calmly converted.
Both teams continued to press, but attempts from Hackett and Varfolomeev drifted wide, while Wickens was forced to intervene again when Bishop’s strike threatened to become a second goal for Lincoln. Early in the second half, Darikwa was forced off with a knee injury, prompting the debut of City’s record signing Andrei Coubis. Around the hour mark, Wickens again denied Bishop, this time from a more meaningful attack as the sun shone brightly over the ProAmpac Stadium, highlighting the difficulty both sides faced in creating clear chances.
The deadlock was finally broken when Portsmouth substitute Ebrima Adams was given space in the middle of the park, surged forward and unleashed a stunning 25‑yard strike that sailed past Wickens, restoring a two‑goal cushion. Segecic nearly added a fourth goal five minutes from the final whistle, but his low effort was saved by Wickens, preserving the 3-1 result. Post‑match, Lincoln manager expressed disappointment: "It was a disappointing result on what was a huge day for the club.
I thought we were dominant for most of the first half, but we were really disappointed with the goals we conceded. After a good start, the first goal knocked the wind out of our sails.
I was pleased with how we responded, but the second half just petered out a bit. I thought Freddy (Draper) and Ben (House) caused their defence a lot of problems in the first half, which was great to see. We can't, though, concede as many goals as we have in the past couple of games.
We've got to go away and think of how we're going to be more solid." Portsmouth captain John Mousinho praised his side’s performance: "I thought it was excellent. If you take everything under consideration and the context of the game, against a side who took 103 points last year, then I think it was a very, very good performance. There were two aspects I was pleased with – we stood up to Lincoln's physical threat pretty well for the most part, and then when we settled down and played, we broke through the lines well and had a real attacking threat at the top of the pitch.
I still think there were a couple of defensive moments where we could have done better – their goal I haven't got an issue with – but largely against a very different test, I think we handled it well and got the reaction we needed." The win not only provides Portsmouth with much‑needed momentum but also underscores Lincoln’s ongoing struggle to find a winning formula since their promotion back to the Championship after a 60‑year absence. Both teams will look to build on the lessons learned as the season progresses.