Match Report
49 points separated the sides: Portsmouth 1st on 97, Shrewsbury Town 19th on 48. The last five rounds placed Portsmouth no better than 5th for form, against 1st in the standings. Against a league average of 1.29 goals per team per game, Portsmouth ran at 1.7 scored and 0.89 conceded, Shrewsbury Town at 0.76 and 1.46.
Defeat had not touched Portsmouth in 14 games.
The head-to-head ledger counts 17 games: 7 Portsmouth wins, 6 for Shrewsbury Town, 4 draws, at 2.24 goals per meeting. Home advantage has meant little here: 41% of the meetings went to the host. Historically tight: 35% of the meetings went beyond two goals.
Fratton Park in Portsmouth, capacity 20,688, hosted the game. Portsmouth led 2-1 at the break, and the second half added 1 goal for the 3-1 full-time score.