Portsmouth move off bottom of the Championship table
Portsmouth 3 - 0 Bristol City
Portsmouth climbed off the bottom of the Championship table with a convincing win over Bristol City at Fratton Park.
Fresh from their strong first-half display against Swansea last week, Pompey got off to another lively start. Colby Bishop opened the scoring inside 20 minutes, reacting quickest to slot home a rebound after his initial shot was parried by Bristol City goalkeeper Max O'Leary.
Josh Murphy doubled the advantage just after the hour mark, and Callum Lang added a third with a close-range header at the back post less than 10 minutes later. The victory, Portsmouth's third of the season, moves them up to 23rd place, leapfrogging Hull City, while Bristol City remain in mid-table.
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Ahead of the match, it was suggested Pompey needed two wins from their next four home games, and they showed clear intent despite the challenging conditions brought by Storm Darragh. Their high-energy pressing caused problems for the visitors, who struggled to play out from the back.
In the 20th minute, Murphy dispossessed Ryan Dickie and set up Bishop, whose initial effort was saved before he tucked away the rebound.
Bristol City, who had impressed with a 4-0 victory over Plymouth last week, were far from their best. They failed to generate significant attacking threats, not least due to Pompey defender Regan Poole, whose commanding performance included two crucial tackles on Anis Mehmeti just before the break.
After half-time, Liam Manning’s side continued to labour. Lang, pressing tirelessly, almost scored earlier but was denied by O'Leary. However, the Liverpool academy graduate made amends by winning possession from Robins captain Jason Knight and assisting Bishop, who unselfishly laid it off for Murphy to poke home Pompey’s second.
Murphy rounded off what was a stellar display with his second assist of the night. A surging run down the left was followed by an inch-perfect cross for Lang to head in Portsmouth’s third, sealing a much-needed and morale-boosting victory.
