Colby Bishop Rescues Portsmouth with Late Equaliser Against Blackburn Rovers
Colby Bishop stepped off the bench, shook off a year of frustration and rescued Portsmouth a point in a frantic 2-2 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Fratton Park.
It was only his fourth goal in 12 months. It felt far bigger than that.
Lightning start, early sting
The game barely had time to breathe. After just 22 seconds, Todd Cantwell drove at the Portsmouth back line and forced Daniel Bielica into the first save of the afternoon. Blackburn looked sharp, direct, ready to ask questions.
Then Portsmouth answered with a thump.
Three-and-a-half minutes in, Jayden Meghoma swung in a cross from the left. Sean McLoughlin’s header clear only reached the edge of the box, where Zak Swanson waited. The full-back watched the bouncing ball drop and caught it flush, volleying low past an unsighted Balazs Toth. Fratton Park erupted. Portsmouth had their lead and, for a spell, their swagger.
Blackburn refused to fold. The game opened up, chances flickering at both ends, and the equaliser came inside seven minutes.
Harry Pickering fed Oladapo Afolayan on the left corner of the area. Afolayan drove at Marlon Pack, shifted the ball cleverly, and whipped a low right-footed shot towards Bielica’s near post. The keeper couldn’t keep it out. One apiece, and the tone set: this was not going to be a quiet afternoon on the south coast.
Bielica’s mistake, Morishita’s punishment
Portsmouth’s young Chelsea loanee Ryan Kavuma-McQueen carried a threat every time he saw space. Four minutes before the break he nearly made it count, pouncing on a loose pass from Toth as Blackburn tried to play out. The 17-year-old lashed a powerful left-footed strike towards goal, but Toth recovered to beat it away and spare himself a costly error.
Pompey came out for the second half with purpose. Kavuma-McQueen again tested Toth on 54 minutes, his shot pushed out by the Hungarian keeper, with Pack’s follow-up deflected wide. The home crowd sensed a push coming.
Then, in a flash, the momentum flipped.
Three minutes later, Bielica miscued a clearance straight into trouble. Kristi Montgomery cut it out high up the pitch and Blackburn swarmed. The ball was worked to Ryoya Morishita on the right side of the box. The Japan international didn’t hesitate, drilling a right-footed effort across goal into the bottom left corner. From nothing, Rovers led.
Bishop’s moment at last
For Bishop, the afternoon began like so many recent ones: on the bench. Three goals in a year had cost him his starting spot. Confidence had drained, minutes had shrunk.
But when the chance finally came, he grabbed it.
Portsmouth, chasing the game, again turned to Kavuma-McQueen. The teenager collected the ball on the right of the area, spun away from his marker and hammered a fierce effort towards goal. It might have been heading in anyway. Bishop made sure.
The striker darted across the six-yard box and glanced the shot in with his head, diverting it beyond Toth. First goal since April. A roar from the stands, and a release from the No 9 that told its own story.
Frantic finish, fine margins
The equaliser lifted Portsmouth and rattled Blackburn, who had looked in control after Morishita’s strike. The game stretched again, legs tiring, tackles flying in, one mistake or one moment of quality threatening to settle it.
Deep into stoppage time, Meghoma almost delivered that moment. Driving in from the left, he found space and unleashed a late effort that had home fans rising to their feet. Toth stood firm, blocking the shot and preserving Blackburn’s point.
When the whistle went, both sides were left with mixed feelings. Blackburn sit 16th on nine points, Portsmouth one point and two places behind with a game in hand. Neither camp will be fully satisfied. Neither will feel completely robbed.
But for Bishop, and for a Portsmouth side still trying to find their rhythm in the Championship, this felt like a small turning point. The question now is whether that long-awaited goal becomes the spark for something bigger.
