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The draw keeps Portsmouth five points clear of the relegation zone in the Championship and Blackburn four points above trouble Hayden Carter's injury-time header secured a point for Blackburn in a 1-1 draw against fellow Championship strugglers Portsmouth at Ewood Park. The defender's header cancelled out Connor Ogilvie's opener for the visitors, who took the lead with 10 minutes to go in what had been a scrappy encounter in Lancashire. Neither team could take a significant control of the match and there was little quality to speak of - highlighted by the fact Ogilvie's opener came from the game's first shot on target in the 81st minute. It was a first draw in five games for Rovers' new interim boss Michael O'Neill and stopped a run of successive defeats. The point was also Pompey's first in three matches after back-to-back losses in what was also John Mousinho's 150th league game in charge. Portsmouth stayed in 19th place, one point and one position above Blackburn. One point and one place separated these two at kick-off, and with both still looking over their shoulder in the battle to avoid the Championship trap door this season, it was clear neither were willing to give an inch. The hosts saw an early chance slip by when Yuki Ohashi blazed over unmarked from 10 yards, and the high-and-wide effort set the tone for most of this lunchtime fixture. Ohashi was in the thick of the action again just before the quarter-hour mark, and it took a crunching block from Ebou Adams to stop the Rovers forward getting his shot away from 12 yards. Adams himself posed Pompey's best threat for much of the first half at the other end, heading Marlon Pack's flick-on just wide and then firing over after impressively muscling his way through the Blackburn midfield. After the break, it was the hosts who had the best of the few chances created as Taylor Gardner-Hickman's low drive slipped just the wrong side of the woodwork for before Yuri Ribeiro lashed an effort just wide. As the game moved inside the final 10 minutes, it seemed as though this one would go down as a scrappy goalless draw, before Ogilvie popped up to rifle home a strike from the edge of the area via a slight deflection off a Blackburn defender with six minutes left. The game's first shot on target sparked the hosts into life for one last throw of the dice in the final five minutes, and they got their reward as former Portsmouth player Carter guided a header beyond Nicolas Schmid in the final few seconds. While the point keeps both sides worryingly close to the bottom three, Rovers can at least celebrate being on the right side of a last-minute equaliser – having thrown away more points than any other team in the division from winning positions so far this campaign. Pompey make the trip back to the South Coast now on a run of just one defeat in four away league games. O'Neill take his side to Blackburn side to another team in relegation trouble - Oxford United on Wednesday, 11 March [19: 45 GMT]. Portsmouth are at home to Swansea City a day earlier on 10 March [19: 45]. Blackburn boss Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Lancashire: "The game probably tells you where both teams are, the seasons they have had, and what is at stake. "We have to be pleased, given we were behind going into stoppage time. I thought we showed good character to keep going. We had the better chances, but we were a bit tense and nervous at times. "We limited them to very little but we didn't take care of the ball enough to take control of the game. But if you can't win the game the key is not to lose it and we managed not to do that. "We are disappointed not have had a penalty awarded to us at 0-0, too, and if he [Yuki Ohashi] makes good contact in the first few minutes it would have been a different situation. "In terms of attitude the lads gave everything they should. The subs gave us energy when they came on, too. " After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 7th March 2026 at 15: 51 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Michael O'Neill Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: John Mousinho Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Michael O'Neill Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: John Mousinho Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Blackburn have won eight of their last 10 home league games against Portsmouth (L2), winning the last four in a row since a 1-0 defeat in the Premier League in September 2007. Portsmouth are looking to complete their first league double over Blackburn Rovers since the 1969-70 campaign. Blackburn Rovers haven’t won any of their last 10 league games in the month of March (D4 L6) since a 2-1 win over Reading back in March 2023. This game will be John Mousinho’s 150th league game in charge of Portsmouth – he’s the 11th manager to reach that landmark, with only two of the previous 10 winning their 150th game in charge: Bob Jackson in December 1950 and Jim Smith in October 1994. No side has dropped more points from winning positions in the Championship this season than Blackburn Rovers (22, level with Wrexham), losing 3-1 from 1-0 up last time out against Derby. Match ends, Blackburn Rovers 1, Portsmouth 1. Second Half ends, Blackburn Rovers 1, Portsmouth 1. Attempt missed. Conor Shaughnessy (Portsmouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ebou Adams with a cross following a set piece situation. Hayden Carter (Blackburn Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Ebou Adams (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Hayden Carter (Blackburn Rovers). Fourth official has announced 4 minutes of added time. Goal! Blackburn Rovers 1, Portsmouth 1. Hayden Carter (Blackburn Rovers) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ryoya Morishita with a cross. Ebou Adams (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Ryoya Morishita (Blackburn Rovers). Attempt missed. Eiran Cashin (Blackburn Rovers) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ryan Alebiosu with a cross. Attempt blocked. Ryoya Morishita (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Sean Mc Loughlin. Foul by Jacob Brown (Portsmouth). Dion De Neve (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Goal! Blackburn Rovers 0, Portsmouth 1. Connor Ogilvie (Portsmouth) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Jacob Brown with a headed pass following a set piece situation. Attempt blocked. Ebou Adams (Portsmouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Zak Swanson. Eiran Cashin (Blackburn Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Millenic Alli (Portsmouth) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Eiran Cashin (Blackburn Rovers). Offside, Portsmouth. Jacob Brown is caught offside. Copyright © 2026 BBC. 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