Ipswich Town were unable to tighten their grip on second place in the Championship after they were beaten 2-0 by lowly Portsmouth.

Conor Shaughnessy and Colby Bishop’s quickfire goals at the end of the first half proved to be the difference for Portsmouth, who moved four points clear of the relegation zone.

Ipswich still have their fate in their own hands. They are two points clear of third-placed Millwall, while also boasting a game in hand over their play-off rivals.

Both sides struggled to carve out any clear-cut opportunities in the opening stages at Fratton Park, though the home supporters were out of their seats just before half-time.

An inviting corner from the right-hand side by Adrian Segecic was met with a towering header by Shaughnessy in the 42nd minute, but things got even better for the hosts.

Just two minutes later, Bishop tucked home from close range after Ipswich failed to clear their lines and John Swift had seen two of his attempts blocked in quick succession.

Marcelino Nunez’s effort in the 67th minute was well held by Nicolas Schmid before Dara O’Shea saw his header cleared off the line late on, as Portsmouth held on for a potentially pivotal win.

THREE. BIG. POINTS. pic.twitter.com/1GnjLddTLw

— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) April 14, 2026

In-form Southampton surged up to fourth following a comfortable 3-0 win at home to relegation-threatened Blackburn Rovers.

Cyle Larin opened the scoring in the 24th minute as he finished from Cameron Archer’s cross before Ryan Manning’s fortuitous goal doubled the Saints’ lead.

And having teed up the first goal, Archer got himself on the scoresheet four minutes from time with a sweeping finish.

Data Debrief: Bishop helps Pompey end Ipswich hoodoo

Portsmouth are beginning to breathe a little easier, having gone unbeaten in their last four Championship games, and their victory here ended a run of five league games without a win against Ipswich.

And, of course, Bishop had to have his say. He has scored more goals in the Football League against Ipswich than any other opponent (seven goals – three for Accrington Stanley and four for Portsmouth).

John Mousinho’s side were deserving of their win, too. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.7 from their 11 shots, four of which were on target, compared to Ipswich’s 0.78 from the same number of attempts.