Richard Keys stunned by EFL after what he saw at Portsmouth v Leeds – ‘Wow’
Portsmouth’s victory over Leeds United and a key factor across the rest of the EFL have left Richard Keys stunned.
Pompey produced one of their best performances since returning to the Championship in a 1-0 victory over the league leaders, with Colby Bishop’s second-half strike proving to be the decisive moment.
Roared on by a packed home crowd for Sunday’s early kick-off which more than matched a raucous away end full of Leeds fans at Fratton Park, John Mousinho’s side were well worth their three points.
The victory both ends a 17-game unbeaten streak for Leeds in the league and helps to consolidate Portsmouth’s own place of 17th in the Championship, a healthy 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
Richard Keys blown away by Portsmouth crowd at Fratton Park
The 20,314-strong followings of Portsmouth and Leeds combined left Fratton Park absolutely packed to the rafters on Sunday, and that home crowd did its job to a tee by motivating Pompey to go and win it.
| Portsmouth | Statistic | Leeds United |
| 1 | Goals | 0 |
| 3 | Shots on Target | 4 |
| 0.66 | xG | 2.36 |
| 42.9 per cent | Possession | 57.1 per cent |
| 7 | Corners | 6 |
It was one of several bumper crowds on a weekend of Championship and EFL action which saw plenty of high attendances, and Richard Keys expressed an admiration for that support in his blog on 10 March.
Keys wrote: “Did you notice the crowds in the Championship this weekend? Wow.
“There were 20,000+ at nine different games (okay, Burnley were a few hundred short of that mark) – in excess of 30,000 at Coventry and Sunderland. More than 26,000 watched Birmingham in League One.
“The EFL are clearly doing something right.”
Portsmouth play their part in significant Championship weekend
Those 20,000 and 30,000–plus crowds across nine different Championship fixtures witnessed a significant weekend of results in the second-tier, none more so than Portsmouth’s upset win over Leeds.
Both Sunderland and Coventry’s home fans attended in droves to see their sides maintain their pushes for the play-off places, while Sheffield United and Burnley both won to keep up the pressure at the top.
Portsmouth are more than happy to settle for a mid-table finish after their start to the campaign following promotion from League One, but their win over Leeds has done the aforementioned duo a huge favour.
Leeds’ promotion chances have suffered their most significant hit since last November after coming away from Fratton Park empty-handed, and Pompey’s long-time home could prove to be the place where their bid for the Premier League came off the rails again.