Middlesbrough vs Portsmouth. Sky Bet Championship.
Riverside StadiumAttendance26,270.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Middlesbrough and Portsmouth at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday | Tommy Conway's late penalty earns a point for Michael Carrick's Boro side.
Saturday 24 August 2024 18:40, UK
Summer signing Tommy Conway came off the bench to score a last-gasp penalty and earn Middlesbrough a 2-2 draw with Portsmouth at the Riverside.
Championship newcomers Pompey looked set for their first win of the season after first-half goals from Christian Saydee either side of Matt Clarke's header for Boro.
But Conway struck in the 90th minute to earn a deserved point for Boro, who had 29 shots on Portsmouth's goal.
On the back of draws against Leeds and Luton, Portsmouth got off to the perfect start with the opening goal after just two minutes.
Boro's defence had not settled and the unmarked Saydee was allowed to sweep home from inside the penalty box.
But the visitors were in front for just nine minutes. Middlesbrough responded well to their nightmare start and drew level when Clarke, who played more than 150 times for Pompey, met Finn Azaz's corner with a superb header into the bottom corner.
Clarke was then involved in the defensive mix-up that led to Portsmouth and Saydee's second.
The centre-half collided with goalkeeper Seny Dieng when the pair both tried to head clear a long throw and allowed Saydee to pounce on the loose ball and tap into an empty net.
Boro once again responded well, with Delano Burgzorg dragging a shot just wide from inside the box and Isaiah Jones seeing his close-range effort bundled clear off the line.
And deep into first-half stoppage time, Azaz set Emmanuel Latte Lath away but goalkeeper Will Norris dived at the feet of Boro's top scorer from last season and saved well.
Boro started the second half in the ascendancy and looked certain to draw level when Aidan Morris rounded Norris and two Portsmouth defenders in the box only to be denied by a brilliant last-ditch Andre Dozzell challenge.
Hayden Hackney then went close before Burgzorg forced a good save from Norris.
Portsmouth were fortunate not to go down to 10 men when substitute Harvey Blair, who had been booked less than a minute after coming on, wiped out Anfernee Dijksteel on the edge of the box but referee Matthew Donohue opted against a second yellow card for the winger, to the fury of the home supporters.
Hackney tested Norris again with a dipping drive that was tipped over the crossbar before substitute Conway dragged a shot just wide of Norris's far post.
Conway then made no mistake from the spot after Portsmouth substitute Owen Moxon had fouled Jones.
Middlesbrough's Michael Carrick:
"I thought there were a lot of good things in the game for us. I thought we were okay - decent enough - last week at Derby, but we were very good at times today.
"We're just giving ourselves a lot to do with the errors. For me, I'm judging it over a period of time through the game - how it looks, what we're trying to do, success we're getting from it - an individual error is the other side of that.
"Take that error out and over the three games we haven't given much away at all, we've had a lot of shots, a lot of good play in and around the box and I thought today particularly was some of our best play in that area against a side who had a lot to hold on to.
"There was a lot of positives really, overall. It's not like there is a lot going wrong within the whole performance."
Portsmouth's John Mousinho:
"As it got closer to full-time I thought we might hold on in there, but ultimately we probably conceded a few too many opportunities and on balance Middlesbrough deserved to win the game. To come away with a point is a really positive result.
"They didn't punish us with the chances they created. It's a really interesting one because if the game goes to 2-2 a bit earlier in the second half I think we change our mentality and play better than we did. But we sat in and sat in and sat in and got away with a few bits.
"Will (Norris, Portsmouth's goalkeeper) dug us out of a couple of holes and there was some last-ditch defending, but I do think the mentality would have changed if we had conceded earlier. It did straight away as soon as it went to 2-2.
"It's difficult to come to places like this, so credit to the lads for coming away with a point. We invited a bit too much pressure and sat deep and allowed Middlesbrough to play centrally.
"I look back at the goal and there's a run off one of our players and we give the penalty away. There's plenty to improve on but there was plenty of good play from Middlesbrough."
