Colby Bishop provided a lucky late equaliser as Portsmouth managed to hold Blackburn to a 2-2 stalemate at Fratton Park. John Mouska made three alterations to the side that had endured a dull 0-0 stalemate against Charlton, with Bishop among those omitted from the starting eleven. Tony Mowbray also had to tweak his line‑up after Blackburn’s win over Millwall; a hamstring problem ruled Yuri Ribeiro out and Harry Pickering was drafted in as his replacement. The visitors began the encounter with a touch more intent.

Sam Morsy slipped a ball through to captain Todd Cantwell inside the penalty area, prompting the first corner of the match when Cantwell’s effort was deflected and flew straight at Daniel Bielica. Nevertheless, it was the home side who struck first. A cross from the left by Tyrese Shade was only half‑cleared by Sean McLoughlin, allowing Zak Swanson to volley the ball past Blackburn keeper Balazs Toth and give Portsmouth the lead.

The advantage was short‑lived. Just seven minutes later Oladapo Afolayan, who had already found the net in his previous two outings, turned a chipped ball from Pickering into a right‑footed finish at the near post, restoring parity for the visitors.

Bielica was again called into action, scrambling away Afolayan’s flick‑on from close range. The ball then raced to the opposite end where Ryan Kavuma‑McQueen attempted a shot that sailed high and wide after a well‑crafted move that began with a 40‑yard diagonal switch from Madiodio Dia. Abu Kamara came close to opening his scoring account for Portsmouth when Pickering made a timely sliding tackle inside the box, preventing the winger from unleashing a shot. Marlon Pack, the Pompey captain, received the match’s first yellow card for a midfield challenge on Afolayan five minutes before the break.

The second half began with Portsmouth enjoying a period of dominance, but Blackburn eventually broke the deadlock. Ryoya Morishita drilled a powerful strike into the far corner, set up by Afolayan, to give the visitors the lead for the first time in the game.

Mouska’s injury woes deepened when Conor Shaughnessy was forced off after an hour, having pulled up unchallenged and requiring a substitution. Portsmouth, however, clawed back into the contest. Substitute Colby Bishop, after a mis‑directed effort, saw his shot deflect off the Blackburn goalkeeper’s hand and into the net, leveling the score at 2-2.

Both sides created chances in the dying minutes. Kamara and Bishop each had opportunities to snatch a winner, but neither could find the decisive goal, leaving the points shared. Both managers could take a modicum of satisfaction from the result as they head into the first international break of the season with a point each.

Portsmouth captain John Mouska reflected on the performance: "It was a frustrating afternoon. We went a goal up, we controlled large phases of the game, yet we didn’t win. We did everything but put the ball in the back of the net and were annoyed by how we conceded the second goal.

Maybe we had a bit of luck with our equaliser but we definitely could have won on the balance of chances. We put in a lot of effort but that is the bare minimum. We needed a bit more quality at times, in both boxes." Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray offered his thoughts: "We’ll take the point and move on to the next game.

There is a bit of frustration around it, really, to get ourselves in front. We should have been able to see that game out but unfortunately we didn’t.

At our best we look like a really good football team, yet I felt we probably showed them too much respect today, allowing them to build into our attacking third too easily. I am disappointed and frustrated, but it’s a point away at Portsmouth, which is never an easy place to come to, with the atmosphere the supporters create. I feel we have to get better.

It wasn’t a top performance from us, slightly below par, I think. We have to have better control. You’ve talked about Portsmouth.

I feel we should be coming here and controlling a huge part of this game and get to a point where we believe that we’re going to win. We should win and we are disappointed, but more frustrated today that we couldn’t reach the performance level. I think we were below par today and that’s probably down to them, but I think we should have managed the game better." The match also featured a reminder for fans to catch EFL action on their phones and a promotion for free Championship highlights.

Additionally, a Super 6 competition was highlighted, offering a chance to win £250,000 with free entry.