John Mousinho feels Portsmouth could have edged ‘proper old school derby’

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho felt his side could have pinched all three points after coming from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw from a “proper old school derby” against Southampton.

Saints were on course for a first league win at Fratton Park in 50 years following Leo Scienza’s 57th-minute opener.

But the visitors were denied south-coast bragging rights when Pompey midfielder Ebou Adams – a January signing from Derby – marked his home debut with a 77th-minute equaliser.

Portsmouth finished a feisty encounter in the ascendancy before climbing out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone courtesy of the hard-fought point.

“It was an amazing occasion,” said Mousinho. “It felt very different to the game back in September (a 0-0 draw at St Mary’s).

“I thought it was a proper derby: the intensity, the aggression, the way it was played. There were a couple of flare-ups and a couple of big tackles which maybe on another day in a different occasion probably result in red cards.

“I thought it was a really brilliant occasion to be a part of. The only disappointment is we didn’t win because I thought we could have done at the end.

“But if I look at the overall chances created and the way the game went I think it was a fair result.

“As a spectacle, it was brilliant. It was a proper old school derby, not a tactical battle. It was a really good game.”

Amid heavy rain in Hampshire, Portsmouth goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid made two first-half saves to prevent Southampton’s top scorer Adam Armstrong opening the scoring.

Brazilian winger Scienza silenced three sides of the ground 12 minutes into the second half, racing on to Finn Azaz’s pass before calmly beating Schmid and then taunting home supporters as he ran the length of the pitch to celebrate with the 2,651 travelling fans.

Tempers threatened to boil over with 20 minutes to go after Southampton midfielder Flynn Downes sparked a melee with a scything tackle on Zak Swanson.

That flashpoint fired up the crowd and Pompey levelled 13 minutes from time when Adams sparked wild scenes by bundling in following an Adrian Segecic corner.

Portsmouth leapfrog Blackburn into 21st place, while Southampton remain 15th after their wait for a clean sheet on the road stretched to 25 league games.

Saints boss Tonda Eckert said: “I think that the chances were quite clearly on our side, especially in the first half.

“And then when we do go up in the second half, we just need to make sure that we bring the game over the line. I think we deserved more.

“The 15 minutes after the first goal, we were clearly on top and you need to use those moments to score a second goal, and if you don’t you need to make sure you see a game out.

“It’s a good corner, a scramble in the middle, and we need to just deal better with those situations.

“It’s a non-negotiable that we have to leave everything on the pitch and we did this to a hundred per cent.”