Portsmouth Vs Hull City: Crooks strike hands Tigers narrow win as Pompey dominate possession
Matt Crooks' winner sealed a 1-0 result in a match best summed up by the headline portsmouth vs hull city: Portsmouth controlled large swathes of the game but Hull City left Fratton Park with all three points.
Crooks punished a defensive mix-up
The only goal arrived in the second half when Adrian Segecic's short back pass put goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid under pressure, allowing Matt Crooks to slide in and score into an empty net; Crooks' finish followed Schmid's scramble after Schmid had briefly cleared a ball chased down by Oli McBurnie.
Portsmouth dominated early but could not convert
Pompey had by far the better of the first half, dominating possession and creating the bulk of the chances — Sky Sports notes Portsmouth had 69% possession in that opening 45 minutes — and Hull keeper Ivor Pandur was kept busy as Portsmouth had 15 attempts on goal in the first half. The Tigers' only clear early opening came when McBurnie's effort was ruled out for offside after Joe Gelhardt's initial shot was saved and McBurnie headed home only to be flagged.
Portsmouth Vs Hull City: Crooks makes it five away wins and matches a 60-year mark
Crooks' goal did more than win the match: it made it five successive away wins for Hull, a run not achieved by the club since 1966, and the strike was described as a smash-and-grab, with Hull only managing two shots but making them count. Sky Sports records that Crooks' finish was his fourth goal of the season and that the result kept pressure on the top two in the automatic promotion race.
Key moments and near-misses
Portsmouth's barrage in the first half included a long-range effort from Terry Devlin that drew an unconvincing save from Pandur, a piledriver from Zak Swanson pushed away by Pandur, and an acrobatic Regan Poole effort saved at close range. Colby Bishop could not convert a rebound after Pandur fumbled a Devlin shot, with questions raised about a possible dragback penalty. In the second half, Bishop failed to poke in at the back post from a set-piece, Millenic Alli saw a low shot blocked, and John Egan headed narrowly over his own keeper as Portsmouth continued to press late on.
Manager reaction and standings impact
Pompey head coach John Mousinho said: "I am very disappointed with the result. We controlled pretty much the entire game. Ultimately we came away with 21 shots, Hull had two, we completely shot ourselves in the foot with the goal. The manner of the goal was completely unacceptable. " The defeat leaves Portsmouth in 19th, five points clear of the relegation zone, while Hull are now three points behind second-placed Middlesbrough.
What comes next
Hull now face a pivotal week on the road as they play promotion rivals Ipswich Town and Millwall; those fixtures are the next confirmed events for the Tigers following the victory at Fratton Park.
