Portsmouth

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Bradford City have signed defender Hayden Matthews from Portsmouth on a season-long loan deal.

The 22-year-old centre-back, capped once by Australia, has made 20 appearances for Pompey since signing from Sydney FC in a £1.25m deal in January 2025.

Injuries have affected his time at Fratton Park and his most recent competitive action was in the 1-1 draw with Birmingham at Fratton Park on the final day of last season.

Matthews becomes the third recent loan arrival to arrive at Mbanq Valley Parade, with QPR midfielder Kieran Morgan and Blackburn Rovers defender George Pratt recently joining the club.

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Transfer deadline day is upon us and today is the final chance for your EFL club to finalise any business until January.

The transfer window closes at 23:00 BST, so we might have some late night scrambles to get deals over the line.

There has already been plenty of movement this summer and whether it's a busy or quiet day for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our EFL deadline day live text coverage throughout the day here

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Tom Chappell
Fournilwrittenalloverit

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Given John Mousinho's side were down 8-0 on an aggregate scoreline across our previous two visits to Ashton Gate, Portsmouth fans could have been forgiven for making the short trip to the West Country a little low on confidence.

A significantly narrowed scoreline and a marked overall improvement in the performance aside, for large periods it was still a comfortable afternoon's work for Bristol City.

Pompey's season will not be defined by defeat at Ashton Gate, but a perennial beating away from home at this particular ground is tiresome.

Portsmouth looked okay until Jed Wallace's well-crafted run and delivery for Lorent Tolaj's opener, and from there lost any real direction heading into half-time.

Once the home side added their second, plenty in the away end, myself included, knew it was probably game over.

That is still in itself the most disappointing measure of Pompey at this moment in time. With well over 30 minutes to play, we looked nowhere near like a side capable of getting anything from the game.

I think we were perhaps a little fortunate with the award of a penalty late on, dispatched expertly by our new Serbian arrival. Hopefully the first of many for Marezi in a Pompey shirt.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho spoke to BBC Radio Solent following their 2-1 defeat at Bristol City.

"It was a really frustrating afternoon," he said.

"Every goal conceded is frustrating for us because we went away from what we've been trying to work on over the past six to eight weeks.

"The performance wasn't disastrous, we've been here the past two years and been way off it.

"We were a lot closer but I still think there's so many aspects of our game that we need to improve."

MATCH REPORT: Bristol City beat Portsmouth for first win of season

There will be plenty of intrigue in this game with Bristol City having been strongly linked with Portsmouth boss John Mousinho earlier this summer.

The Pompey head coach confirmed there was contact but remained at Fratton Park with the Robins eventually handing the job to Michael Skubala who arrived from Lincoln City.

• Bristol City have kept a clean sheet in each of their past three league games against Portsmouth (W3), and five of their past six overall since August 2011.

• Portsmouth have lost each of their past three league games against Bristol City, only once before have they lost four in succession in this fixture - a four-match run between November 1974 and April 1976.

• Bristol City have lost five of their past seven home league games (W2), this after losing just six of their prior 25 at Ashton Gate between mid-February 2025 and mid-February 2026.

• Portsmouth have won each of their past two away league games by 3-1 scorelines, they last won three in succession on the road in the second tier in September 2002.

• Portsmouth's Ryan Kavuma-McQueen scored on his first professional start against Lincoln last weekend – he could become the 10th player aged 17 or under to net in back-to-back Championship appearances, but the second to do so on their first two starts after Theo Walcott in 2005.

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says the club could add a new signing before the game against Bristol City on Saturday (15:00 BST) as he expects more movement in his squad before the close of the transfer window.

The club have brought in nine signings so far this summer, with eight players departing.

With more new players expected to arrive, the head coach is prepared to see others make an exit.

"There's always going to be the possibility that other clubs come in and see the good work the players have been doing and I think that's a compliment to the players," Mousinho said.

"We will be ready to be proactive off that. We still need to free up a bit of squad space so we are not done yet with the ins or the outs.

"Maybe one [will come in] before the weekend but no-one who is going to affect the squad."

Defender Regan Poole should be available for the side's trip to Ashton Gate after missing out on the game against Lincoln City with an injury, while winger Harvey Blair has returned to training and is expected to be in the squad.

Fellow winger Josh Murphy, however, is likely to miss out until further notice with his groin injury.

Listen to the full interview below or on BBC Sounds here.

Explore more Portsmouth content on BBC Sounds

The latest episode of BBC Radio Solent's Who Needs Mourinho? podcast is out now.

Chris Wise and Andy Moon are joined by football commentator and Pompey fan Ian Darke to look back on the 3-1 win at Lincoln City.

Who impressed? Where do further signings need to be made?

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho admits he is concerned by the persistent groin injury that had forced Josh Murphy off after just 19 minutes on Saturday.

The 31-year-old winger made just his fourth Pompey appearance since Christmas as a substitute at Lincoln, but after coming on in the 58th minute, he was replaced in the 77th.

Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent: "It's just that persistent groin problem. Over the past however many months there's been a lot of frustration, as I've said Murph might be ready; he might not. That's because of where he is with that.

"We got him to a good place, where he played last week, trained all week, but he's obviously felt it again.

"It's a concern. We'll have to try and figure that out [in the coming days]."

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's match between Lincoln City and Portsmouth.

Here are some of your comments:

Lincoln City fans

Jack: Lincoln's high-press system was found wanting against a team that could adapt and play through it, finding a way to disrupt it.

Portsmouth are a hardened, street-wise Championship side, and they were very good going forward and dominated the game, particularly in the second half.

Lincoln needs to adapt, and quickly, otherwise it will be a long season for them.

Dave: They are weak, as they rely on bombing the opposition box or hurling long balls. Worked in League One, but this is a huge step up. Need to play proper football to survive.

Maurice: Lincoln needs to concentrate on the basics.

1. Defending and off-the-ball play not good enough.

2. Too many mistakes and bad passing.

3. Too many long balls from the goalkeeper and not enough short passes.

4. Team selection and subbing are questionable. Experienced players unused?

5. Too many players do not look around to see where opposition players are.

I could go on. But if they correct what I've mentioned, their game should improve.

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Portsmouth fans

Andy: A decent performance by Pompey after the first five minutes.

Marlon Pack made a massive difference this week and made them look more solid at the back.

Frank: Improved performance, however, not up to where we need to be yet. Sometimes sloppy on the ball, and against better opposition, would have been under more pressure. Six out of 10. Good luck to Lincoln, though, after a long absence at this level but it could be a long season of battles for them.

Biscuit Mick: Classy performance on Saturday, fabulous goals. Thought Lincoln were poor, still playing League One football, but the best team won by far. Defence needs to speed up and be more protective, but on the whole, very good performance. PUP.

Tom Chappell
Fan writer

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Pompey were by some way the better side at Sincil Bank on Saturday afternoon. For large spells, we looked like a very comfortable and controlled side, were full value for the three points and arguably were a goal or two light in the end.

Sometimes — and more often than not in the Championship — the enjoyment of following Pompey on our travels ends when the football begins. This weekend just gone, we loved every minute (except, perhaps, when Reeco Hackett converted from the spot).

The first goal massively settled us after an alarmingly shaky opening five minutes. Abu Kamara expertly teeing up Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, who looks ridiculously talented, more than ready to roll for this level, and is now the youngest player to net a goal for Pompey across all competitions detailed on Opta records.

Segecic's strike was not only a marvellous watch but was also indicative of us taking a leaf out of our two previous opponents' books. Both West Ham and QPR in recent weeks have taken opportunities when presented to gain control of a football match. Up until now, Pompey had failed to do so this season, succumbing to scoring just once again against good sides. This weekend, that changed.

Taking on the shot on sight and ultimately reaping the rewards went a long way to winning the game in the mid-to-late-August Lincolnshire sunshine.

Ebou Adams secured the headline-grabbing moment with a strikeout of the very top drawer to secure Pompey's first away win of the season with a touch over 20 minutes to play. It was a beautiful watch from behind the opposing goal and after a critique or two in the week, should provide Pompey's heart-on-the-sleeve midfield general with confidence.

John Mousinho's side were committed, defended brilliantly and worked for each other. Marlon Pack's measured midfield display made everyone else's performance that little bit better, and it goes to show that a shot from outside the box instead of working to find the perfect pass isn't always the worst idea in the world.

The circumstance of the opposition needs considering as a newly promoted side granted; however, Lincoln's debut home fixture back at this level was always going to require a serious effort. There will be, I'm sure, teams that come away with nothing from Sincil Bank this season.

Find more from Tom at the Fournilwrittenalloverit, external YouTube channel.

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Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

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Matches can change on fine moments.

Portsmouth had made a sloppy start at Lincoln City and five minutes in, Ben House was through on goal.

A weak effort was saved by Nico Schmid. Pompey took the lead soon after and never looked back.

This wasn't a perfect defensive display, but a big improvement on the past two weeks.

Lincoln love to get balls into a crowded penalty area and Pompey largely stood up to the challenge.

The Imps will find set-piece goals are much harder to come by in the Championship compared to League One.

It was also a better attacking performance.

Abu Kamara assisted one goal and won the free-kick for the other. Ryan Kavuma-McQueen got a goal and looked threatening. As did Adrian Segecic.

The midfield looked much more balanced with Marlon Pack in. He was excellent. Ebou Adams had a very positive impact off the bench.

The only downside was Josh Murphy lasting less than 20 minutes before going off injured. His fitness concerns continue.

The season is now up and running, though, and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.