Sheffield United fell to a disappointing defeat against a struggling Portsmouth team that picked up their first win and clean sheet of the season, a result that draws both the Blades and Blackburn into the relegation dogfight as the season moves towards the closing stages.
The deadlock was broken shortly after the half-time interval, when a defensive mixup led to Portsmouth forward Megan Hornby being gifted the ball inside the penalty area. Hornby kept calm under the pressure and deftly passed it to the waiting captain Sophie Barker, who slotted it past Blades ‘keeper Sian Rogers to make it 1-0.
It was just the second time that Portsmouth had taken the lead all season.
Portsmouth’s second goal came in the 74th minute when Megan Hornby whipped in a beautiful corner to line up her second assist of the afternoon, as it met Riva Casley at the back post who powerfully headered it into the net. After going two goals ahead, it was clear Portsmouth were the more dominant side.
United had made three changes to the team that had lost narrowly away to high-flying Birmingham City two weeks ago, with Ella Kinzett and Maddy Earl missing out through injury and illness.
Portsmouth also made three changes to their previous fixture, which saw them suffer a heavy defeat at home to Charlton.
The first half saw few chances for either team, with perhaps the best for the Blades falling after just six minutes to Jacqui Hand, following a looping ball over the Portsmouth defence.
Hand was unable to capitalise, and while there would be a few more opportunities over the first forty-five minutes, ultimately none would be able to be converted as the Portsmouth defence, which has so far this season been the leakiest in the league, stood firm and recorded their first first-half shutout this season.
Sheffield United went down to 10 players after just half an hour after Issy Hobson was sent off for a foul on Hornby on the edge of the penalty area, which referee Ella Broad deemed as denying a goalscoring opportunity.
This would ultimately change the course of the match, with Blades more than matching their opponents before this incident, but struggling to keep pace afterwards.
There were a few shouts for a Sheffield United penalty after Maria Farrugia was caught in the penalty box on the cusp of half-time, but these were waved away.
After the break, Portsmouth grew into the game and were dominant, rewarded by two goals and were almost rewarded with a third towards the end of the game, but Sian Rogers was equal to those shots and made some good saves in the second half to keep the scoreline at 2-0.
The result sees Portsmouth close the gap on both Sheffield United and Blackburn to one and two points, respectively, with only five games left in the season. Portsmouth are next in action in two weeks time when they host Sunderland, while Sheffield United will be looking to bounce back in their next game, on 23 March when they travel to the capital to face London City.
