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Anis Mehmeti has scored six league goals this season for Bristol City Bristol City boosted their promotion hopes with a 1-0 victory at struggling Portsmouth to move into the Championship play-off positions and leave their hosts in the relegation zone. A dominant first-half display from the visitors saw them take the lead through Anis Mehmeti on 17 minutes, the Albanian forward finishing a flowing move with a headed opener for a sixth league goal of his campaign. And while John Mousinho's Pompey fought back to make it a contest in the second period, carving out chances late in the game as they searched desperately for an equaliser, they were unable to claim a point. Defeat for the Fratton Park outfit made it just one win in their past nine league outings and, combined with a win for Sheffield United at Leicester, it saw Mousinho's men drop into the bottom three. There was symmetry to a contest that featured hosts going into the game a point and a place outside the relegation zone and visitors who started a point and a place outside the top six. Yet there was little balance on the field in an opening half that saw Bristol City charge out of the blocks and Pompey struggle to get any sort of a foothold. Bristol City might have had a penalty with just 45 seconds on the clock only for claims to be waved away after Scott Twine tumbled over Regan Poole's leg as the pair challenged for a loose ball inside the area. Replays showed referee Sam Allison was correct in deciding there was minimal contact as the Bristol City man was already on his way down. The away fans did not have to wait long for their side to make good on that early promise though. Just 17 minutes were on the clock when Mehmeti proved the spear tip of a flowing move which started in the Bristol City backline and swept up field. Neto Borges provided the assist on the left, swinging in a perfectly flighted cross which was met by the 24-year-old. Pompey's sluggish start did not go down well with the home support who let the blue shirts know what they thought as Gerhard Struber's side continued to dominate. Emil Riis forced a decent save with a long-range effort leading to further boos among the Pompey faithful. Yet, with Josh Murphy a constant threat down the left, Portsmouth managed to get a toehold in the contest as the match moved towards the break and in the second half it was an even contest. In the opening minute, Colby Bishop saw a bundled effort cleared off the line by Zak Vyner, while Murphy and Poole both had chances late on as Portsmouth pressed in vain. Bishop had the best chance of the lot only for his first-time effort to be smothered by Radek Vitek after he was put through by Conor Chaplin on 85 minutes. Bristol City were made to fight hard for victory in the end but hung on for a second win in their last three matches to breathe life into a promotion push which had shown signs of flatlining. Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber told BBC Radio Bristol: "We prepared a really good atmosphere for ourselves today. We go into the game with a completely different understanding from Wrexham. To pick up points here in this stadium you have to come at a really good level performance-wise and the boys did that. "I would say, yes, it was the best opening 30 minutes this season. I know it is really difficult how we deal with the atmosphere but it was on a really high level from them and I am really pleased with how we did it. "To be here in the end you need every single player and we needed Radek [Vitek]. Of course this is part of the game here and we needed every single one. In the end we defended our goal with everything we had in the tank. "A really big win and a massive win for our confidence. " This video can not be played Struber: "A massive win for our confidence" 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 29th November 2025 at 15: 53 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: John Mousinho Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Gerhard Struber Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 Manager: John Mousinho Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Gerhard Struber Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions After winning three consecutive league games against Bristol City between March 1991 and April 1992, Portsmouth have since won just two of their 14 against the Robins (D7 L5). Bristol City have failed to win any of their last three away league games against Portsmouth (D1 L2), failing to score on their previous two visits. Portsmouth are looking to win successive home league games for the first time since March last season, following their 3-1 victory over Millwall. Bristol City have won three of their last four weekend matches in the Championship (L1), keeping a clean sheet in all three victories. The other game in this run was a 5-1 defeat away to Stoke, however.    Bristol City’s Anis Mehmeti only has more goals in the Football League against Plymouth Argyle (5) than Portsmouth (3), while he has four goal involvements in his last three league games against them (3 goals, 1 assist). Match ends, Portsmouth 0, Bristol City 1. Second Half ends, Portsmouth 0, Bristol City 1. Offside, Bristol City. Anis Mehmeti is caught offside. Offside, Portsmouth. Regan Poole is caught offside. Attempt missed. Colby Bishop (Portsmouth) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Conor Chaplin with a cross. Substitution, Bristol City. Yu Hirakawa replaces Scott Twine because of an injury. Attempt missed. Josh Murphy (Portsmouth) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Marlon Pack. Foul by Adam Randell (Bristol City). Josh Murphy (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Fourth official has announced 5 minutes of added time. Offside, Portsmouth. Makenzie Kirk is caught offside. Foul by Ross Mc Crorie (Bristol City). Márk Kosznovszky (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt missed. Josh Knight (Portsmouth) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Attempt blocked. Conor Chaplin (Portsmouth) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Attempt blocked. Makenzie Kirk (Portsmouth) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Marlon Pack. Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match because of an injury Radek Vítek (Bristol City). Corner, Portsmouth. Conceded by Neto Borges. Attempt saved. Colby Bishop (Portsmouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Radek Vítek (Bristol City). Assisted by Conor Chaplin. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.