En teenager på lån fra Tottenham scorede sit første seniormål i sin seniordebut, da Pompey vandt en meget vigtig udesejr mod Oxford, hvor truppen viste beslutsomhed og det ikke var til at se at de seneste syv kampe blot har givet syv point. Først i overtiden fik Oxford to store chancer, som Craig MacGillivray fik reddet. Det er tæt i toppen, så Pompey skal fastholde takterne og gerne have en sejr i næste kamp.
At det er tæt i toppen viser stillingen tydeligt, og bemærk de ti sidste kolonner der viser pointsnit over hele sæsonen samt de sidste 8 kampe. Skal Pompey rykke direkte op, kræver det nok en 85 point, det betyder et snit på 2,00 de sidste 17 kampe.
| GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | PPG | last 8 | ||
| 1 | Peterborough | 29 | 18 | 4 | 7 | +24 | 58 | 2.00 | 2.38 |
| 2 | Lincoln City | 29 | 17 | 6 | 6 | +19 | 57 | 1.97 | 1.88 |
| 3 | Hull City | 31 | 16 | 5 | 10 | +21 | 53 | 1.71 | 1.00 |
| 4 | Portsmouth | 29 | 15 | 6 | 8 | +19 | 51 | 1.76 | 1.25 |
| 5 | Sunderland | 29 | 13 | 11 | 5 | +20 | 50 | 1.72 | 2.13 |
| 6 | Doncaster | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | +12 | 49 | 1.81 | 1.63 |
| 7 | Accrington | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | +9 | 46 | 1.64 | 1.25 |
| 8 | Oxford Utd | 28 | 13 | 5 | 10 | +8 | 44 | 1.57 | 2.00 |
| 9 | Charlton | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | +4 | 44 | 1.47 | 1.00 |
| 10 | Ipswich Town | 28 | 13 | 5 | 10 | +4 | 44 | 1.57 | 1.13 |
| 11 | Crewe Alexandra | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | +2 | 43 | 1.43 | 1.38 |
| 12 | Plymouth | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | -7 | 42 | 1.40 | 1.88 |
| 13 | Milton Keynes | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | +4 | 41 | 1.37 | 2.00 |
Portsmouth assistent manager Joe Gallen:
“The response from Saturday was exceptional. We played very well, looked organised and showed plenty of tenacity and intensity.
“We ran as hard as we have for a long time and were able to come up with a quality goal. The boys deserved their three points.
“Ronan Curtis looked bright alongside Ellis Harrison and we wanted to get behind Oxford, play with a physical fashion and cause some problems.»We ran as hard as we have for a long time and were able to come up with a quality goal. The boys deserved their three points.»
“They created some clear-cut chances from nowhere at the end, but there hadn’t been too many prior to that.
“Craig MacGillivray did well from a one-v-one and then a header and we were a bit disappointed to concede those opportunities.
“There are games coming all the time and it will be like that through to May. There isn’t a lot between the players in our squad.
“I know all of them well and they want to win desperately. They want to be successful and have a lot of character and belief.”
Kassam Stadium, League One, 23. februar 2021
Oxford – Portsmouth 0-1 (0-0)
48 min 0-1 Harvey White
Pompey (4-4-2): MacGillivray; Johnson, Raggett, Nicolaisen, Brown; Harness (Williams 63), Naylor (c), Cannon, White; Harrison (Hiwula 86), Curtis (Marquis 75)
Gule kort: Curtis, Harness
Bænken: Ward, Whatmough, Daniels, Byers, Williams, Hiwula, Marquis