Portsmouth 1 Leeds United 0: Promotion-chasing Leeds suffer shock defeat — Yorkshire Post 9/3/25
Leeds United blew the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Championship on Sunday lunchtime.
Colby Bishop fired a second-half winner as Portsmouth beat
Championship leaders Leeds 1-0 at Fratton Park.
Leeds saw promotion rivals Sheffield United, Burnley and
Sunderland win on Saturday and a combination of poor finishing and impressive
goalkeeping from Nicolas Schmid brought an end to a 17-match unbeaten league
run stretching back to November.
Pompey have won four of their last five matches and are now
10 points above the relegation zone. They boast the best home record in the
Championship this calendar year and Bishop’s strike ensured Leeds became their
latest victims.
Leeds thought they should have had an early penalty when
Matt Ritchie kicked through the back of Dan James’ legs but the only shot of
note of the first half an hour was a heavily deflected effort from Freddie
Potts.
Pompey were grateful for a double save by Schmid in the 39th
minute. Solomon turned and hit through a crowded penalty box to force the
Austrian into a diving stop to the right and Schmid denied Joel Piroe’s
point-blank follow up from the rebound with his feet.
Piroe had a second golden chance of the match within five
minutes of the second half getting under way. James and Solomon combined before
the latter rounded Schmid to pull back to Piroe. But the striker lacked
composure from seven yards and blasted wastefully over the bar.
Pompey began to dominate as Josh Murphy twice had shots
deflected just wide and Bishop could not divert a pacy low cross in.
The home side’s pressure paid off in the 61st minute when
Ogilvie’s ball down the left channel picked out Bishop, who split the two
centre backs before clipping a shot over Meslier and in off the far post to net
his sixth goal of the season.
Pompey were in command now and almost doubled their lead as
Andre Dozzell unleashed a 25-yard thunderbolt which Meslier parried away and
Ogilvie nodded a header just wide.
Schmid came to Pompey’s rescue again after Junior Firpo had
bundled his way into the box and was one-on-one with the keeper who saved with
his feet again.
Then Firpo nodded against the crossbar moments later as he
began to look as though it was not going to be Leeds’ day in front of goal.
While the woodwork was still vibrating at one end, Murphy
curled a long-range effort against the outside of the post at the other.
Man-of-the-match Schmid secured the points for the hosts at
the death when he acrobatically tipped over Sam Byram’s header.