Michael O’Neill proud of Blackburn’s character after last-gasp Portsmouth draw

Michael O’Neill pointed to the “good spirit” shown by Blackburn as they scored in stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth.

The contest between two struggling sides was uncharacteristically open early on as Yuki Ohashi missed a glorious close-range chance for Rovers and Ebou Adams headed just wide for Pompey in the first 12 minutes.

The game settled down thereafter and it seemed Portsmouth had delivered the decisive blow six minutes from time when Connor Ogilvie’s deflected half-volley – his first goal of the season – put the visitors ahead.

However, Blackburn grabbed a point in the third minute of stoppage time when Hayden Carter stooped to flick a header into the far corner off the post.

Rovers sit four points off the relegation zone and manager O’Neill praised the squad’s character for not giving up.

He said: “We have to be pleased with a point given you’re behind going into stoppage time. I thought we showed good character to keep going.

“It was a difficult game I felt. We had the better chances in the game but, at times, our overall play was a little bit tense, a bit nervous. We needed to be better with the ball.

“At times when we did show our quality, we saw the chances we did create in the game, particularly in the early part. We’re disappointed not to have a penalty awarded at 0-0.

“I felt we limited them to very little in the game but equally we didn’t take care of the ball enough to get enough control in the game. But we showed good spirit and at times showed good quality to create the chances that we did. Ultimately, if you can’t win the game, the key is not to lose it.”

Portsmouth’s winless run stretches to three and boss John Mousinho criticised his side for “managing the game horrifically” after taking a late lead.

He said: “It’s going to be ultimately defined by the last 10 minutes after 85 minutes of controlling the game. We had much more possession.

“Blackburn had a really good chance early on but, apart from that, pretty cagey. We’ve given ourselves the opportunity to win the game and after we scored the goal, I thought we just completely threw it away.

“Stopped winning headers, stopped winning challenges, stopped winning second balls, let them back inside for the goal, dropped too deep, committed too many bodies forward at times. We didn’t do any of the things we’d done so well for 85 minutes.

“There’s that mentality switch when you go a goal ahead. I can accept us sitting deep but then we have to dominate underneath the ball, win our challenges, you’ve got to come out and win second balls.
“We managed the game horrifically. We managed it so, so poorly and ultimately we got what we deserved.”