Portsmouth 2 Cardiff 1: Neil Allen's verdict - Talisman's timely return to brilliance to inspire crucial triumph

There have been missed opportunities, a slight dip in form and even glimpses of tiredness in his displays of late, culminating in the Bramall Lane disappointment.

Bishop may have been on the floor after the Sheffield United defeat, while John Mousinho publicly and emphatically backed a player without a goal in open play for eight matches.

Yet, when the Blues needed him most, their talismanic striker rose to the challenge magnificently with a goal and a man-of-the-match display to inspire a crucial triumph over Cardiff.

It was the former Accrington man who opened the scoring on nine minutes, with a finish from Josh Murphy’s pass, also bringing up his 50th goal in 119 Pompey outings.

The Blues then established a 2-0 lead after 17 minutes when Conor Shaughnessy headed home a Murphy left-wing corner.

Just six minutes later, the Bluebirds reduced the deficit when Callum O’Dowda headed home after poor defending from Zak Swanson.

Yet while there were no further goals - and there were opportunities at either end - Bishop led the line brilliantly, making himself a constant pest.

Remarkably, it had been almost 10 months since the Blues last scored at Fratton Park on a Tuesday night, arriving against Barnsley in their title-winning match - when Bishop and Shaughnessy both scored in the 3-2 success.

Unfortunately, Pompey lost Shaughnessy on the hour mark against Cardiff through injury, although, for what it was worth, he was able to walk off the pitch without help.

But the belligerent Bishop remained until the final whistle as Mousinho’s men leapfrogged above their opponents in the table to climb into 18th spot - four points clear of the relegation zone.

Freddie Potts was a notable absentee from Pompey duty, failing to even make the squad against the Bluesbirds.

Instead Isaac Hayden replaced him in the centre of midfield, with Mark O’Mahony coming onto the bench after returning from injury.

That represented the only change to the team which lost 2-1 at Sheffield United on Saturday, despite an impressive away performance.

Adil Aouchiche remained among the substitutes, with Mousinho having weighed up whether to start him against the Bluebirds.

However, there was no Fratton Park comeback for Alex Robertson, who was missing for the visitors with a hamstring injury.

When the game got underway, it was the Blues who struck first in a lightning start.

On nine minutes, Murphy fed Bishop inside the box and the striker took a touch before prodding the ball into the far corner of the net to make it 1-0.

It marked Bishop’s 50th goal for the Blues since his arrival in the summer of 2022 and, crucially, handed his team an early advantage in a crucial fixture.

Remarkably, that lead inspired Pompey to raise their game even more as they relentlessly pursued another.

Sure enough, on 17 minutes, Josh Murphy curled in a left-footed shot which Jak Alnwick brilliantly pushed around the post.

From the resulting left-wing corner, the ball was delivered into the box and there was Shaughnessy with a close-range header which Alnwick couldn’t keep out to make it 2-0.

Pompey were in dreamland, 2-0 up after 17 minutes, however Cardiff soon pulled one back following a poor piece of defending from the hosts.

Andy Rinomhota put in a cross from the right and O’Dowda managed to beat Zak Swanson in the air and plant a header which found the far corner of the net, with Nicolas Schmid not moving.

Minutes later, a ball pulled back from the left found Cian Ashford inside the box, but his shot was brilliantly blocked by Connor O’Ogilvie before hacked clear by Rob Atkinson.

It was proving to be a breathless game and, on 38 minutes, Lang charged down Alnwick’s kick, with Matt Ritchie heading a pass to Bishop, whose shot towards an empty net was blocked.

At the other end, Joel Bagen charged upfield and managed to get the better of Swanson inside the box, but his subsequent shot was saved at his near post by Schmid.

The match entered half-time 2-1 to the Blues, yet carried with it a distinctive feeling that there could well be more goals.

Pompey re-emerged from the interval with Terry Devlin introduced for Swanson at right-back.

The Blues had a great chance to restore their two-goal advantage minutes into the second half after Andre Dozzell had intercepted a Cardiff pass out of defence.

He pushed a lovely ball through to Murphy, who drove into the box, but his left-footed cross lacked conviction and was easily blocked.

Then Lang bundled a ball through to Bishop, whose fierce shot was beaten out by Alnwick, who had been at full stretch to deal with it.

Pompey suffered a blow Shaughnessy had to come off with injury after 60 minutes, with Hayden Matthews replacing him.

Then, on 67 minutes, Aouchiche and Marlon Pack were introduced for Hayden and Ritchie at a time when the Blues had become rather sloppy and not retaining possession.

The lead remained fragile and, on 75 minutes, Murphy fired a free-kick narrowly over after Pack had been fouled on the edge of the area.

Yet Cardiff weren’t out of it and in the 86th minute a cross from the right was met with a Robinson volley which was met with a point-blank stop from Schmid, who then gathered at the second attempt.

Immediately Schmid delivered a long kick up the pitch and Bishop’s shot was diverted onto the bar by a Bluebirds defender, with Aouchiche, Murphy and then Pack following it up and seeing their attempts blocked each time.

But Pompey held on and claimed yet another huge Fratton Park win in the battle for Championship survival.