Portsmouth beat Cardiff City 2-0 at Fratton Park on Saturday afternoon in the Championship's fifth round of matches. Conor Shaughnessy opened the scoring in the first half before Marko Milovanović doubled the lead after the interval. The result leaves the hosts four points clear of the drop zone while Cardiff remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
Shaughnessy's strike came in the thirty-first minute, a moment that shifted the momentum. By then Cardiff had already shown they could press, but the home side held firm. Milovanović made it 2-0 in the fifty-second minute and there is no doubt the game was effectively over by then. Cardiff pushed for a response but Portsmouth saw the game out without further incident.
There were several changes on both sides in the second half. David Turnbull, Christopher Willock and Rocco Robert Shein all came on for Cardiff around the hour mark, while Marko Milovanović and Tyrese Shade were withdrawn at the same time. Ollie Tanner and Krystian Bielik were also replaced late on, with Marlon Pack brought on in the ninety-first minute.
Cardiff dominated possession at 64 per cent and registered 101 attacks compared to Portsmouth's 74. They created two big chances against three for their hosts, but the expected goals figures tell a different story. Portsmouth's 2.07 xG against Cardiff's 1.37 suggests the visitors were second to everything in terms of quality of chances.
The result extends Portsmouth's unbeaten run to two games and ends Cardiff's winless streak at five matches. The hosts sit fourteenth with six points from five games, while Cardiff are twenty-second on three points. There is unrest in the dressing room at the Welsh club, and the manager will need answers before the next fixture.
