Goalkeepers Arthur Okonkwo and Josef Bursik took centre stage as Portsmouth and Wrexham played out an absorbing goalless draw at Fratton Park, their first meeting since 1986. Wrexham extended their unbeaten Championship run to four matches and have now lost just once in nine league games, while Portsmouth ended a three-game losing streak with a far more resolute display following their 4-0 hammering at Birmingham City.
Pompey, the division’s lowest scorers, unleashed 18 shots with seven on target and enjoyed more than four times as many touches in the opposition box as their visitors, but could not find a way past an inspired Okonkwo. At the other end, Wrexham carved out some of the game’s clearest opportunities through Lewis O’Brien and Kieffer Moore, only for Bursik to respond with crucial saves of his own. The point lifts Wrexham up to 14th, while Portsmouth sit 20th, five points above the relegation zone, both sides taking encouragement as well as frustration from a contest that somehow finished 0-0.
Seven-Change Pompey Start Fast Before Wrexham Find Their Feet
After Saturday’s horror show at Birmingham, John Mousinho responded with seven changes to his starting line-up, retaining only Bursik, Regan Poole, Ibane Bowat and Andre Dozzell and switching to a back five to deal with Wrexham’s front three. The tweaks brought an immediate injection of urgency. Within minutes, Josh Murphy almost embarrassed Okonkwo when a wayward cross drifted dangerously towards goal, then soon after he drove in from the right and fired at the Wrexham keeper from a tight angle. A free-kick from the winger later cleared the crossbar, and his wicked delivery from the flank was diverted narrowly wide by Poole as Portsmouth began on the front foot.