Derby County 1-1 Portsmouth: Spoils shared at Pride Park after Hayden Matthews own goal costs Pompey
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Portsmouth at Pride Park on Saturday; Spoils shared after a Hayden Matthews own goal cancels out Callum Lang's opener for Pompey.
Saturday 20 December 2025 18:48, UK
Portsmouth's long wait for an away win went on after Derby came back to draw 1-1 at Pride Park.
It looked good for the visitors when they took an early lead through Callum Lang, but the hosts levelled on the stroke of half-time when Hayden Matthews turned the ball into his own net.
The home side had plenty of possession but failed to create any clear chances until the closing minutes when Patrick Agyemang had a header well saved by Nicolas Schmid.
Pompey rarely threatened after Lang's goal and have now failed to record a victory on the road since the opening day of the season.
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For Derby, it was more frustration at home and was the fourth game in a row at Pride Park where they have failed to win.
Portsmouth went into the game with the worst away record in the Sky Bet Championship, but they went ahead in the 6th minute.
Skipper Josh Murphy broke away up the left and played in Lang, who showed composure to hold off two challenges before firing a left-footed shot into the net from 12 yards.
The visitors now had something to defend and they were forced to as Derby pushed them back without making full use of promising positions.
Agyemang flashed a low shot across the box before Rhian Brewster saw a powerful drive blocked close to the line.
The Rams had a great chance in the 31st minute when Portsmouth lost possession, but Ben Brereton Diaz's pass to put Bobby Clark clear was heavy and Schmid dived on the ball.
However, Derby did not waste the chance that came in the 45th minute when Pompey's offside trap was sprung and Matthews put Joe Ward's cross into his own net under pressure from Agyemang.
Portsmouth were struggling to offer much going forward and they came under more pressure at the start of the second half with Agyemang's pace proving a constant threat.
But Derby were also finding it hard to produce quality when it mattered with both sides coming up short in the final third.
Agyemang tried to change that with a strong run in the 84th minute, but the visitors recovered well to deny him a strike at goal.
The hosts went even closer five minutes later when Dion Sanderson whipped in a low cross which just evaded Lars Jorgen Salvesen.
Derby thought they had snatched all three points in stoppage time, but Agyemang's header produced a fine save from Schmid.
The managers
Derby's John Eustace:
"It was a frustrating game, I thought we started really well so going a goal down was disappointing.
"We scored a good equaliser and then it was just frustrating in the second half, we just lacked that bit of composure and bit of quality to go and score a second.
"The team's attitude is different class, they keep going, they fight and scrap for everything and then in that final third and in the build-up play we need to be braver on the ball and make better decisions.
"I think 31 points is a good return up to now. We've had to rebuild the team and had to be patient with players coming in and getting fit.
"We are still missing four or five key players who could come in to the group and they're not going to be back in a short period of time, but the effort of the boys who are playing is outstanding."
Portsmouth's John Mousinho:
"I think it's a decent point. First of all we had to stop the rot away from home which was really important, having not picked up results recently on the road.
"Backing up the performance last week I thought was really positive and overall it was a really positive performance. We had to dig in towards the back end, but we were good value for the point.
"Certainly today, against a side that are excellent from set-pieces and are much bigger than us, I thought we stood up well to it.
"We have got a lot of positives from showing that grit and digging in, but what pleased me most was the way we played football. The goal itself was probably the best goal we've scored this season.
"I thought Derby's goal came against the run of play, but we came out and showed a huge amount of composure, probably in three-quarters of the pitch, it was just in that final quarter we didn't have it. And that's something we really need to work on because footballing-wise I thought it was a really good performance."
