Portsmouth secured their inaugural home victory of the campaign with a 2-0 win over Cardiff on a stirring afternoon at Fratton Park, thanks to goals from defender Conor Shaughnessy and striker Marezi. The match began with a heartfelt homage to former Portsmouth goalkeeper Alan Knight, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 65. Knight, a club legend with 801 appearances, also served as a coach and ambassador, and both squads observed a minute’s silence around the centre circle in his memory. The home side also introduced two new faces, Tyrese Shade and Jayden Meghoma, who had completed their transfers on deadline day.
Early on, Cardiff appeared to threaten when Krystian Bielik headed a Joel Bagan free‑kick wide after just three minutes. Portsmouth’s first genuine chance fell to Adrian Segecic, whose long‑range effort was saved by goalkeeper Nathan Trott after a subpar clearance from the Cardiff keeper. Marezi, who would later become the match‑winner, missed a close‑range header in the 23rd minute, and a minute later Terry Devlin failed to connect with a low free‑kick from Segecic. The deadlock finally broke fourteen minutes before the interval when Shaughnessy rose above the defence to meet a looping header from Shade’s long throw, sending the ball into the net and giving the home fans a much‑needed lead.
Portsmouth continued to press, and shortly after, John Mousinho’s side launched a swift counter‑attack that saw Marezi miss a tight‑angle effort. Nevertheless, the Serbian striker redeemed himself seven minutes after the restart.
Segecic delivered a pinpoint cross, and Marezi swept the ball past a helpless Trott to double the lead. An earlier goal‑scoring claim was ruled out for off‑side when Marezi appeared to nod in a cross from the debutant Meghoma, but the decision was correctly overturned.
Despite the comfortable cushion, Portsmouth’s defence showed moments of vulnerability, yet Cardiff never managed to exploit them decisively. The Bluebirds, languishing second from bottom, are still searching for their first Championship win since earning promotion from League One last season. Frustration boiled over in the final fifteen minutes when Cardiff defender Bielik seemed to grab a home supporter around the throat, an incident that added tension to an already heated finish.
Portsmouth almost added a third when Abu Kamara struck the cross‑bar, and captain Marlon Pack saw a header from a sharp angle blocked. In the dying seconds, Cian Ashford attempted a long‑range effort from the edge of the penalty area, but Portsmouth goalkeeper Daniel Bielica made a comfortable save, sealing the result.
After the match, Portsmouth manager John Mousinho praised his side’s performance: “I’m delighted with the result. It was completely different to the other performances; we didn’t necessarily dominate, but the first half was pretty good.
The second half became a bit fractured as Cardiff changed their shape, which caused us a couple of problems. Thankfully after the second goal the game slowed down with several stoppages, which helped us see out the match. You can’t be perfect in everything we do, we strive for that, so there will always be opportunities for improvement.
We’ve been down in the dumps because of recent results, but the performances haven’t been a million miles off, and there’s a lot we want to do better. I never want to hide behind excuses. We have to be consistent – level when we win, level when we lose – and keep looking for areas to improve because that will make us better.” Cardiff’s manager Brian Barry‑Murphy expressed disappointment: “It was obviously a very disappointing result.
We are not happy with the goals we conceded and there are many areas where we can improve. We had enough chances to score but were not clinical enough.
We were not aggressive enough defensively and we always knew it was going to be a very tough test. We are confident we can win games at this level as long as we get the basics right.” The victory not only gave Portsmouth three points but also marked a morale‑boosting step forward after a series of underwhelming displays earlier in the season. The win was celebrated by a passionate crowd, who appreciated the tribute to Alan Knight and the emergence of new signings who made an immediate impact. With the season still in its early stages, the Pompey faithful will hope this performance signals a turning point and that the team can build on the momentum to climb the Championship table.
The match also featured a reminder for viewers to use the Chrome browser for an optimal video player experience, and a promotion for watching free Championship highlights and accessing EFL games on mobile devices. Additionally, fans were invited to participate in the Super 6 competition for a chance to win substantial cash prizes, with entries available at no cost.