Ibane Bowat's first Portsmouth goal sealed a precious 2-1 comeback victory over Blackburn Rovers at Fratton Park, ending the hosts' three-match losing streak and lifting them out of the Championship's bottom three. Trailing to Yuki Ohashi's superb first-half strike, John Mousinho's side finally roused themselves after the break, with Callum Lang levelling before Bowat rose highest from a corner 11 minutes from time.
For Blackburn, whose away record before kick-off had been bettered only by Coventry and Middlesbrough, this was a rare defeat on the road and a damaging one. Valerien Ismael's team had arrived on the south coast after three consecutive draws and left just three points above the relegation zone, ruing familiar defensive lapses that turned a controlled position into a painful loss.
Ohashi's Quality Breaks Open a Cagey Encounter
Both sides entered the game in dire need of a lift. Portsmouth had won just once in their previous 10 league matches and lost seven of their last nine, a run that had dragged them into the relegation zone. Blackburn, meanwhile, had stalled with three draws on the spin, hovering uncomfortably close to the bottom three despite their impressive away form. It was little surprise, then, that the early exchanges were cautious and scrappy rather than fluent.