Fans storm pitch at Fratton Park as Portsmouth secure League One title | ITV News Meridian

Fans storm pitch at Fratton Park as Portsmouth secure League One title

  • Watch: Fans storm pitch at final whistle


John Mousinho hailed Portsmouth’s "remarkable achievement" after the come-from-behind 3-2 win over Barnsley at Fratton Park secured the League One title and promotion to the Championship.

Pompey looked to be missing their opportunity in front of their own fans when, needing one point to return to the second tier after a 12-year absence, they were 2-1 behind after Devante Cole and John McAtee struck either side of Kusini Yengi’s equaliser.

But the hosts hit back in the final seven minutes with Colby Bishop scoring from the penalty spot and Conor Shaughnessy heading home the winner.

In a post match interview, Mousinho said he was struggling to put what happened into words.

Portsmouth fans storm pitch after final whistle at Fratton Park Credit: PA

"It was such a strange feeling, because we were so poor for 85 minutes, so my feelings for the entirety of the game was one of frustration. Then to turn the game around like that, and to do it so quickly with everything that happened at the end, is very difficult to describe.

I think once everything settles down and it sinks in, we'll recognise the enormity of all that the club has achieved."

"It is a very, very special football club, and everyone knows it."

Play-off chasing Barnsley, having lost three of their last four games, are four points above seventh-placed Lincoln.

Boss Neill Collins told the club’s official website: "There are a lot of positives. But the biggest frustration is that all those positives didn’t add up to what I thought would be a deserved victory.

"We perform like that, we’ll be fine. We’ll win games. It’s just the fine margins. For me, it’s the fine margins that have gone against us the past four or five games.

"Tonight again, it’s some of our doing. But that’s what we need to concentrate on. That’s what the Football League is all about."


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