Josh Murphy’s cool first-half strike gave Portsmouth a 1-0 victory over Blackburn to add weight to their survival chances and put a dent in Rovers’ play-off hopes.
Murphy’s superb one-two and finish lit up a low-quality affair which condemned Valerien Ismael’s Blackburn to a fourth straight defeat and extended his winless start as Rovers manager.
Ismael is now five matches without a win since replacing John Eustace – who failed to record a victory in any of his first 10 games – with Blackburn now five points adrift of the top six after dropping to 11th.
Portsmouth, meanwhile, ended a two-match losing run to pull out a seven-point buffer on the relegation zone.
Pompey have scored 19 points at home since the turn of the year, more than anyone else in the Championship, so it was no surprise when they opened the scoring.
A shot-less opening 20 minutes was broken by Murphy’s seventh goal of the season. Andre Dozzell picked up on a loose defensive header before playing the ball to the winger, who got into the box via a one-two with Colby Bishop before beautifully curling into the bottom corner.
Rovers attempted to bounce straight back and Ryan Hedges, a 13th-minute substitute, bounded into the penalty area but his fierce effort was saved by Nicolas Schmid at the near post.
Murphy then had Pompey’s second and last shot of the first half when he drilled a low effort from 25 yards, but Aynsley Pears easily gathered on the dive.
The hosts edged the midfield battle but it was Rovers who had the better chances on the approach to half-time.
Cauley Woodrow, on his first Blackburn start since arriving on loan from Luton, thought he had caught Schmid out from 45 yards but the goalkeeper recovered to catch the lob.
Woodrow then produced a stunning cross to the back post but ex-Portsmouth loanee Hayden Carter could not squeeze the ball in.
Yuki Ohashi barely made Schmid work with a tame header and Lewis Travis skied over the bar from the edge of the area as Rovers continued to lack quality after the break.
Carter also cleared the goal after a fine passing move, while Terry Devlin ended a 45-minute wait for a shot by having an effort deflected just wide.
Blackburn had plenty of the ball in the second half but loose passes cost them whenever they threatened, with their last shot coming in the 67th minute.
And Pompey could have grabbed a late second when a defensive mix-up gave Devlin a chance to capitalise, but the ball would not fall for him.
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Real Madrid vs Al Hilal With the score at 10-0 against Auckland City, Manuel Neuer started doing warm-up exercises in the middle of the field... lol International Trophies It's been a year since Kylian Mbappé broke his nose at the Euros. We never got to see the mask everyone wanted to see "A competition without Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal & Bar...
Chelsea have kicked off their Club World Cup campaign, but behind the scenes there is still serious transfer work going on.While Enzo Maresca trains his players in the USA, the transfer team are getting to work on helping build his squad.Gittens still wants Chelsea – Chelsea still want GittensThe attempts to sign Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens before the tournament failed, but it's c...
Arsenal are in the mix to complete a surprise deal for former Manchester City player Aymeric Laporte, with a report detailing how much he will cost to sign from Al-Nassr this summer.Laporte first arrived in England in January 2018 when Man City broke their transfer record by paying Athletic Club £57million to sign him on a five-and-a-half-year contract. The centre-back went on to make 180 app...
Rafael Leao, Nico Williams, Bradley Barcola and Eberechi Eze are among Bayern Munich's potential targets after missing out on the signing of Bayer Leverkusen starlet Florian Wirtz, sources told ESPN.Wirtz, who is currently on holiday following the UEFA Nations League finals, is set to soon complete his transfer to Liverpool, after ESPN reported last week that the Premier League champions had agree...
Man Utd and Napoli show interest in Hudson-OdoiCallum Hudson-Odoi, who joined Nottingham Forest from Chelsea in 2023, has only a year left in his existing deal. The winger had an impressive outing in the 2024-25 campaign and played a key role in the club securing a European place after 30 years away from continental competition. The 24-year-old scored five goals and provided three assists in 36 ga...
Pablo Marin of Spain and Issa Doumbia of Italy battle for the ballSpain and Italy played out a 1-1 draw in their final group game of the UEFA European U21 Championship, ensuring both nations completed it without defeat (W2, D1).With passage to the quarter-finals already sealed for both nations, this matchup was purely a fight for top spot, and it was the Spaniards who edged proceedings in the earl...
Thomas Frank was chosen among 30 candidates for the Tottenham jobTottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham has revealed that Thomas Frank was chosen among more than 30 other candidates to succeed Ange Postecoglou as manager.Tottenham chose Thomas Frank as their new head coach last week, and were made to pay London rivals Brentford 310million in the process as Franks appointment was published only days after...
Saudi clubs prepare huge bids for Tottenham captain KaneTottenham captain Son Heung-min has attracted interest from three Saudi Pro League clubs ahead of a potential summer move.The South Korea international has just 12 months remaining on his current Spurs deal and has been linked with a move away, with the North London club reportedly open to selling him this summer to cash in on the experienced...
And just like that, the transfer window is closed.Now depending on where you've been for the past few weeks, you might be asking yourself two questions:1. Is that a "Sex and the City" reference? 2. Wait, what?To the first question: Of course it is. Bring back Samantha.And to the second: With the Club World Cup kicking off this past weekend and set to stretch all the way through mid-July, FIFA gave...
LaLiga president Tebas: Barcelona cannot register Garcia - for nowLaLiga president Javier Tebas has warned Barcelona must sell to register Joan Garcia.Barca have agreed to pay goalkeeper Garcia's €25m buyout clause in his Espanyol contract.However, Tebas insists the Blaugrana do not have room in their registered budget to sign Garcia at this stage.He said, "We haven't even set dates yet, but...
- 1 DONE DEAL: Marseille confirm CJ Egan-Riley signing from Burnley
- 2 Chloe Kelly enjoys sun-kissed holiday as Arsenal star rests before Euro 2025
- 3 Jack Grealish set to leave Man City this summer
- 4 Man Utd make decision on replacing Andre Onana with Emi Martinez this summer
- 5 PSG vs Atletico Madrid Prediction 16 June 2025
- 6 Laura Woods gives update on post-pregnancy body
- 7 Real Madrid eye a trio of targets
- 8 Maddison and Wag announce they're expecting twins AGAIN
- 9 'If you want to understand, it's really obvious' – USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino responds to Christian Pulisic, eager to move past off-field drama
- 10 Tottenham make 'mega £70m bid for Bryan Mbeumo' as Man Utd fear hijack