Portsmouth ended a desperate run to boost their Championship survival hopes with a gritty 1-1 draw at an in-form Norwich.
An 84th-minute own goal from Pelle Mattsson earned the visitors a precious point after the same player had opened the scoring for the Canaries in the 26th minute. The leveller was deserved after Pompey had taken just one point from their previous six games, and it halted Norwich’s run of seven straight home wins at Carrow Road.
After a scrappy opening, Norwich began to control the game. Mathias Kvistgaarden was unlucky when an audacious scissor kick from Paris Maghoma’s header was deflected wide, but Mattsson put the hosts ahead when Madiodio Dia’s poor clearance fell to the Danish midfielder, who took a couple of paces forward and planted his shot into the bottom corner.
Portsmouth continued to compete and almost equalised around the half-hour mark when Marlon Pack’s in-swinging corner struck the upright and a frantic goalmouth scramble followed, with Norwich clearing their lines.
The second half was largely tame, with few clear chances until late on. Mattsson sent a looping header just wide in the 81st minute, but three minutes later Pompey grabbed the leveller. Andre Dozzell’s free-kick from the left was flicked on by Colby Bishop and, under pressure from Regan Poole, Mattsson diverted the ball into his own net. Norwich responded with Ali Ahmed volleying straight at goalkeeper Nicholas Schmid, but Portsmouth held on for a deserved point.
The managers
Norwich’s Philippe Clement:
“I think it was a game we should have won. We had a few good moments in the first half and there were other times when we got ourselves into good positions and the final pass went astray. They had just one shot on target and I don’t remember us conceding many chances. I don’t think there was any doubt we were the better side on the ball but in games like this you really need a second goal, because if you don’t get a second something like this can happen. They score late in the game and it doesn’t give us much time to react. We were missing some of our international players from the starting line-up and I am not happy with some of the managers who didn’t stick to their plans about how long they should play. But it is what it is and we have to get on with it.”
Portsmouth’s John Mousinho:
“I am really pleased with both the point and the performance after what happened in our last match. It was just what we needed going into another big game on Monday [at home to fellow strugglers Oxford]. The first half was a bit cagey from our standpoint but we needed a reaction from two weeks ago when we were 3-0 down after 20 minutes. We weren’t exactly peppering their goal but we managed the game well and got into some decent positions, and in the second half I thought we pinned them back for long stages. We kept going and in the end we got our goal – and I think on the overall balance of play we deserved a point. I know Norwich started the season badly but they are one of the best sides in the league, certainly top four based on their form. To come here and get a positive result shows we can mix it with the best when we apply ourselves properly.”