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PORTSMOUTH | 1 | 0 | PRESTON NORTH END |
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Season 2025 / 2026 (H) Preston North End Championship |
| 30 August 2025 | TRANSFERMARKT | FOOTBALL DATABASE |
WON |
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PORTSMOUTH | 1 | 0 | PRESTON NORTH END |
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Andre Dozzell’s deflected
finish late in the first half was enough for Pompey to beat Preston at a
wet Fratton Park. The midfielder’s first goal of the season ensured the Blues went into the international break on a real high. And although their opponents saw plenty of the ball, they were unable to really trouble Nicolas Schmid between the sticks. John Mousinho stuck with the same side that drew at West Brom the previous weekend, although there was a place on the bench for recent arrival Josh Knight. It was the visitors who were quickest out of the blocks, although there were no real chances at either end in the opening stages. A 30-yard free-kick from John Swift dipped narrowly over the crossbar, while an Adrian Segečić effort was blocked. But it was certainly not the most fluent of contests, with the constant rain perhaps making life more difficult. Preston had struggled to make the most of their possession, although Thierry Small curled a shot not too far wide after cutting inside from the left. The hosts were looking more likely to break the deadlock as the half neared its conclusion, however, and were causing a few problems. It looked Colby Bishop would open the scoring when Josh Murphy sent in a teasing low cross, only for Daniel Iversen to deny the striker from point-blank range. But the Blues were able to take the lead from the resulting corner, which was played short by Murphy for Swift. He laid the ball off to DOZZELL, whose shot from outside of the box took a slight deflection to deceive Iversen and find the net. Half Time: Pompey 1 Preston 0 Dozzell sent Murphy racing away shortly after the restart, although the winger’s angled attempt rose over the bar. Stefán Thórdarson soon picked out Small at the other end, but the wing-back’s scuffed shot was easily held by Schmid. The hosts were not content to just sit on their lead, though, and Ali McCann had to throw himself in the path of a Zak Swanson strike. Mousinho freshened things up with a change just past the hour mark, as Florian Bianchini made way for Luke Le Roux. Murphy immediately had an opportunity to extend Pompey’s lead, but scuffed wide after Connor Ogilvie’s throw found him in space. Nerves set in as the second half drew on and the home side struggled to keep hold of possession, inviting more pressure on themselves. Knight was brought on to make his Blues bow on 79 minutes, with Swanson the man to make his way from the pitch. North End’s challenge had started to quieten down, although Lewis Dobbin fired wastefully over when Small cut the ball back for him. Terry Devlin and Thomas Waddingham replaced Segečić and Bishop as Mousinho added fresh legs for the closing stages. And the Blues saw out six minutes of added time with relative ease to continue their promising start to the Championship campaign. They should have added a late gloss to the scoreline, but Murphy fired over with just Iversen to beat after being picked out by a fine Devlin delivery. |
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Updated - 01/09/2025 |
