A late equaliser from substitute Colby Bishop meant Blackburn Rovers had to settle for a 2-2 draw away at Portsmouth. The point, secured on Saturday 19 September, moves Tony Mowbray's side up two places to 16th in the Championship table on nine points.
Portsmouth started quickly and took the lead in the fourth minute through Zak Swanson. Blackburn responded well and levelled just seven minutes later, with Oladapo Afolayan finding the net after being set up by Harry Pickering, who had come into the side for Yuri Ribeiro. The visitors then went ahead in the 56th minute when Ryoya Morishita finished off a move involving Afolayan.
John Mousinho introduced Colby Bishop in the 71st minute and the change paid off almost immediately. Three minutes later, Bishop connected with a cross from Ryan Kavuma-McQueen to score his first goal of the season and snatch a point for the hosts. The draw leaves Blackburn with a record of two wins, three draws and three defeats from their opening eight matches, a sequence detailed in their standings position.
Mowbray's reaction
Tony Mowbray took a pragmatic view of the result. "We'll put the point in the bag and move on to the next game," the Blackburn manager said. His counterpart, John Mousinho, expressed frustration after seeing his side surrender an early lead. "It was a frustrating afternoon with the fact we went a goal up, controlled the game but didn't win," the Portsmouth boss said.
The result continues a mixed run of form for Rovers, whose recent results show a win, two draws and two losses in their last five outings. Afolayan's goal was his third of the campaign, making him the club's top scorer so far. The team's next challenge is a home fixture against Cardiff City on 10 October, a match fans can find on the club's fixtures list. Balazs Toth started in goal for Blackburn, while captain Todd Cantwell led the side in a match that saw Portsmouth register 20 attempts on goal.
Further reading: skysports.com
