Josh Murphy ‘illuminates terrible Portsmouth scenes’ with what forward did
Portsmouth have a sole focus now to stagger over the line to Championship survival, picking up whatever points they can.
This could all realistically have been over if Pompey had been able to earn just a few more points on their travels, having solely relied upon their home form to establish their place in the league next season.
However, John Mousinho‘s troops find themselves with five games to play, three points clear of the drop zone, yet still in 17th due to the sheer number of teams against which they will battle to avoid the trap door.
Derby County, three points behind the Blues, can leapfrog Mousinho’s side with a win at Fratton Park on Saturday (12 April). A win for Portsmouth would be magnificent in the survival picture; defeat would be a disaster.
Ian Darke urges Portsmouth to dig in to win ‘terrible’ games
Portsmouth now sit in a precarious position as they prepare to host survival rivals Derby, having taken zero points from their last two matches on the road.
It was perhaps eerily predictable that Pompey would take no return from Millwall and Coventry City within the past week, but the fine margins of the Championship struck again with the home sides winning each respective game via 87th and 94th-minute deciders.
TV commentator and Blues fan Darke is adamant it all rests on the home form, as that is the situation Portsmouth have put themselves. Their form at Fratton Park is play-offs-esque; away from home it is that of relegation fodder.
Darke described the last Fratton outing, the 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers (29 March), as a “terrible, awful” contest, lit up by a moment of quality. To repeat that would be just the ticket on the South Coast.
“It’s all about points now and not performances. The Blackburn game was a terrible, awful football match illuminated by a great moment from Josh Murphy that decided it,” he exclusively told Pompey News.
“That was the last one at Fratton Park, and if they’re going to rely on their home form then they need to get maximum points from games like [Saturday].
“Pompey have defended well at home and kept teams at arms’ length – they need to just get enough points to stay afloat.”
Pompey hope to dash dreams of familiar faces
Portsmouth will look to come up trumps at home once again in the face of some familiar figures, including Matt Clarke, Marcus Harness and even one-time Blue, Derby captain Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
The aim is identical for both sides, who shared the automatic promotion joy from League One last season. Both have had their fair share of struggles this season, Derby improving since acquiring John Eustace from Blackburn to replace Paul Warne after a doomed run.
| Portsmouth – final five | Date |
| Derby (H) | 12 April |
| Norwich (A) | 18 April |
| Watford (H) | 21 April |
| Sheffield Wed (A) | 26 April |
| Hull (H) | 3 May |
The Rams gained a respectable goalless draw against Burnley on Tuesday night, having previously seen a four-game winning streak ended by a solitary-goal defeat by Swansea City last weekend.