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Harvey Blair scored his
first senior goal as Pompey fought from behind to secure a point at
Sheffield Wednesday in their final away game of the season. He turned home a Josh Murphy cross to cancel out Callum Paterson’s early opener for the mid-table Owls. John Mousinho made five changes from the side that beat Watford to guarantee Championship survival on Easter Monday. Ben Killip was handed a debut between the sticks, with Conor Shaughnessy, Terry Devlin, Andre Dozzell and Blair also entering the fray. Nicolas Schmid, Regan Poole and Matt Ritchie dropped to the bench, with Jordan Williams and Adil Aouchiche both missing through injury. Pompey started brightly and dangerous corners from Dozzell and Murphy in quick succession caused problems. But it was the home side that broke the deadlock on nine minutes, when Stuart Armstrong hooked the ball into the box. It landed at the feet of Paterson, whose fierce effort cannoned into the net off the underside of the crossbar. The Blues looked to strike back and Connor Ogilvie found himself right up the pitch to glance a Murphy centre narrowly past the post. And they were level midway through the first half, as Isaac Hayden slipped a pass through for Murphy to deliver another fine cross that was slammed home by BLAIR. There were certainly not an abundance of clear-cut opportunities, however, and the entertainment came from spotting fans in fancy dress – Mario, Luigi and Wario among them – in the away end. Yan Valery’s drilled effort did draw a regulation save from Killip, while former Fratton striker Michael Smith found the side netting. Rob Atkinson could not quite connect with Dozzell’s corner at the other end and it came as no surprise to see the sides go in level at the break. Half Time: Sheffield Wednesday 1 Pompey 1 There was a change at the break, as Poole came on to replace Shaughnessy at the heart of the visitors’ defence. It was Owls substitute Anthony Musaba who was soon causing problems, however, drawing a diving stop from Killip before angling another attempt narrowly over. Pompey also survived a spot of pinball in their box and Mousinho made a second switch just before the hour mark, with Kaide Gordon on for Blair. They needed to find a way to make some inroads in the opposition half, with the home side starting to look in control. Wednesday were dominating the possession and enjoying territorial advantage, but not really doing much to test Killip. Two more changes followed for the Blues on 71 minutes, as Dozzell and Hayden made way for Callum Lang and Marlon Pack. Nathaniel Chalobah fired in a shot that provided Killip another regulation stop, as the hosts continued to look the more likely to grab a winner. But Atkinson came close on 85 minutes, flinging himself towards a deep Murphy free-kick, but not quite able to nod the ball on target. Pompey’s leading assists maker had the chance to put his feet up for the final few minutes, with Cohen Bramall brought on. A number of stoppages ensured there was plenty of time added on, but neither side came close to turning one point into three. |
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