Portsmouth 1-1 Shrewsbury: Blues frustratingly held to fourth successive home draw in League One

Despite dominating possession against Steve Cotterill’s resolute side, the hosts did little to really test visiting keeper Marko Marosi – with only Zak Swanson’s superb strike on 30 minutes proving worthy of finding the back of the net.

However, that only came after the Shrews stole the lead on 26 minutes when poor home defending was capitalised upon by Elliott Bennett, who fired past Josh Griffiths – who was more or less a spectator for the rest of the game as the Blues searched for a winner.

Yet that much-needed winner never came, ensuring injury-hit Pompey head into a League One break with just one win in seven.

The Blues made two changes from the side, who drew to Oxford in midweek, with Josh Koroma and Owen Dale replacing Ronan Curtis and the injured Reeco Hackett.

After a slow start, it took till the 20th minute for the Blues to have their first effort of the game, when Bishop headed an attempt straight at Marosi.

Yet, Cowley’s men found themselves behind five minutes later when an unmarked Bennett slotted past Griffiths from close range.

It was pin-ball in the box as Winchester’s initial effort was deflected off Swanson and found the brother of former Pompey man Kyle in the box.

But the hosts replied instantly when Swanson curled in a wonderful left-footed effort from the edge of the box to level the score.

Dale proved a nightmare for the Salop defence, and he caused issues soon after as his ball in was nearly covered by Tom Bayliss into his own net.

Although the Blues’ couldn’t find a goal before the break, they continued to control the game early in the second as two efforts from Scarlett were well-blocked by the Shrewsbury defenders.

On 61 minutes, the ball found Bishop in the six-yard area but the striker opted to pass it to the Spurs loanee, but he was unable to get a clear strike on the ball.

Yet, injuries affected Pompey once again as Raggett was withdrawn midway in the second half holding his back and will be another concern for Cowley.

Despite their dominance, second half chances were few-and-far between but the Blues came close to a winner on 72 minutes when Swanson’s ball in found Bishop in the box but his header was just over the bar.

That was the best it got for Pompey. who were unable to unlock the strong Shrewsbury defence.

Although there were boos at full-time, the point moves the hosts up to fifth in League One.