Mixed evening for Portsmouth relegation rivals in battle for Championship safety

Hull, Cardiff and Stoke all had the chance to capitalise on their games in hand and climb away from the Championship drop zone.

However, of the two matches taking place, only Cardiff managed to secure victory - and, crucially, in their clash with Hull.

And none of the outcomes have affected the Blues’ nine-point gap with the bottom three with 12 games remaining.

Cardiff’s Callum Robinson’s 52nd-minute goal was enough to earn the three points for Omar Riza’s side, representing their first win in six matches in all competitions.

During that run, they had lost to Pompey and drawn at Plymouth, but last night overcame Hull to leapfrog above them in the table and move into 19th place.

That now leaves the Bluebirds three points behind John Mousinho’s men, having played the same amount of games.

As for Hull, they remain three points ahead of the relegation zone - and six behind 17th-placed Pompey.

The Tigers collected a surprise 1-0 victory at Sunderland at the weekend, but couldn’t follow that up with a similar impressive result against Cardiff.

Indeed, that Stadium of Light outcome represents their only victory in their last five league matches. However, they entertain Plymouth on Saturday.

The other fixture which took place last night was 19th-placed Stoke hosting an badly out-of-form Middlesbrough, whose boss Michael Carrick is under increasing pressure.

However, Boro grabbed a much-needed 3-1 success to end five consecutive league defeats which had devastated their play-off hopes and left them in 13th.

Carrick’s men took the lead through Marcus Forss, only for Jun-Ho Bae to level for Stoke on the stroke of half-time.

However, second-half goals from Finn Azaz and Tommy Conway secured the win for Middlesbrough, who moved up to 11th - four points adrift of the play-offs.

For the Potters, it marked a third defeat in their last four Championship fixtures, pushing them down to 20th after Cardiff’s win on the same night.

Mark Robins’ men remain four points behind Pompey and three ahead of Plymouth in the final relegation spot.

They next host Watford on Saturday, with the Hornets having beaten the Blues’ weekend opposition Luton 2-0 last Sunday.

Incidentally, Luton, Derby and Plymouth continue to occupy the bottom three after 34 matches of the Championship season.