Worst Fratton Park run for 13 years: Portsmouth's famous strength threatens to become relegation weakness
For the first time since January 2013, the Blues have lost four successive home games in all competitions
Pompey are burdened with their worst Fratton Park form for more than 13 years as they fight for their Championship lives.
Monday night’s 1-0 loss to Derby signalled a fourth successive home defeat for John Mousinho’s men in their ongoing battle against relegation.
If that wasn’t concerning enough, the Blues have won once at PO4 in 2026 - that being the 3-0 triumph over West Brom in January.
It’s an alarming run of results which are threatening to sabotage Pompey’s bid to avoid the drop as the season heads towards its climax.
Fratton Park was the primary reason for survival being accomplished last term, with the Blues boasting the eighth-best home record in the Championship for 2024-25.
Among the notable scalps were Leeds, Coventry, Middlesbrough and Watford, while Sheffield United, Burnley and Norwich fled with goalless draws.
This time, however, only Oxford United, Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday possess a worst home return of 22 points from 19 fixtures.
Worst run at Fratton Park since the 2012-13 season
The current period of four consecutive losses also marks Pompey’s worst run at Fortress Fratton since the dismal 2012-13 campaign.
At the time reeling from administration, under threat of liquidation and overseen by caretaker boss Guy Whittingham, the Blues slumped to five straight defeats on the south coast.
From December 26, 2012, they were beaten on home soil in League One by Crawley (1-2), Yeovil (1-2), Hartlepool (1-3), Notts County (0-2) and Colchester (2-3).
That wretched Fratton Park run eventually ended on February 16, 2013, with a 1-1 draw against Carlisle in front of a crowd of 11,466.
Whittingham’s men had been trailing to Rory Loy’s 51st-minute opener, until a Liam Walker penalty claimed a point 12 minutes from time. It was the second - and final - goal the Gibraltar international ever scored for the Blues.
Remarkably, having lost the previous five home matches, Pompey’s point against the Cumbrians signalled an unbeaten end to the season at Fratton Park, unconquered in their final seven home fixtures.
Nonetheless, the Blues were still relegated after finishing bottom of League One, albeit with a 10-point deduction in recognition of a failed CVA having come out of administration in April 2013.
Failed to win opening seven home games of 2024-25
Since then, Pompey failed to win any of their opening seven Fratton Park games in all competitions last season during a tough return to the Championship.
However, among that sobering period were draws against Luton, Sheffield United and Oxford United, which ensured there were no more than two successive losses.
Mousinho’s men finally collected their first home win of the 2024-25 campaign on November 9, 2024, with Colby Bishop spectacularly announcing his comeback following open-heart surgery with a goal in a 3-1 triumph over Preston.
That would ignite the Blues’ season as they lost two of their final 16 matches at Fratton Park on the way to securing Championship survival with two games to spare.
As it stands, the Blues have lost 11 of their 21 home fixtures in all competitions so far this season, while have failed to score in four of the last five.
With pivotal fixtures against Oxford (April 6) and Leicester (April 18) in their four remaining Fratton Park matches, the Old Girl can still have a decisive say in this relegation battle.
Worryingly, however, time is rapidly running out to save them this season.
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