Portsmouth beat Lincoln 3-1 at home on Saturday in the second round of the Championship season. The visitors took the lead through Ryan Kavuma-McQueen in the seventh minute, but Adrian Segečić equalised eight minutes later before Reeco Hackett-Fairchild converted a penalty to give Lincoln a 2-1 advantage. Ebou Adams struck in the 69th minute to secure the win for Portsmouth.
And here's the thing about that penalty — it came after a clumsy challenge inside the box. Lincoln had been building something, but then the game shifted. Tom Bayliss picked up a yellow card shortly after, and by the time Ebou Adams found the net, the momentum had turned completely.
Portsmouth controlled the tempo. They had 61 per cent possession and 240 passes in the opposition half compared to Lincoln's 153. The hosts were pinned back and dug in, but one mistake ends it when you're chasing a game. Adams was everywhere in the final third, while Lincoln's shots accuracy of 27 per cent tells you they weren't creating enough clear-cut chances.
The statistics reveal an uneven contest. Lincoln generated more expected goals at 2.32 to Portsmouth's 1.21, yet the visitors took seven shots on target with 54 per cent accuracy. They didn't need to dominate — just be clinical when it mattered. Portsmouth's 123 attacks versus Lincoln's 59 showed where the pressure sat.
Both teams made changes in the second half. Tendayi Darikwa came on for Lincoln in the 55th minute, while Portsmouth brought on Marlon Pack and Abu Kamara together in the 86th. The substitutions didn't change the result, but they showed both managers were looking for something different.
Lincoln sit 17th with four points, one win, one draw and two defeats. Portsmouth are 21st with three points from a single victory. The result extends Lincoln's poor run — they lost 5-1 to Grimsby in their last home game and have now dropped points in three of four matches.