Creative ace's growing influence could guide Portsmouth FC to safety with ease | OneFootball

Josh Murphy has been a star-turn for Portsmouth in the Championship this season

The Championship relegation battle may well be intensifying as we edge closer to the dying embers of the campaign, but Portsmouth’s chances of staving off the drop are certainly growing in no small part due to the performances of Josh Murphy.

John Mousinho’s side are one of seven outfits currently locked in the Championship relegation dogfight, although they are finally beginning to pull away from an immediate return to League One following an abject start to the campaign.

There remains an element of inconsistency to Portsmouth’s results, with the south coast side winning three, drawing one and losing four of their last eight matches.

Crucially, though, they are becoming increasingly formidable at home and are prizing points from teams near them in the division, which they did so on Tuesday evening by claiming a 2-1 win over relegation rivals Cardiff City at Fratton Park.

In an ironic twist of fate, it was ex-Bluebirds winger Murphy - who cost the club a whopping £11 million all the way back in 2018 - who ran the show, putting both goals on a plate as he tormented his former employers to seal a huge victory for the home side.

Josh Murphy's starring Portsmouth FC display against Cardiff City

Portsmouth have a tendency to come racing out of the blocks at home and did exactly that against Cardiff, which was very much directed by Murphy.

The pacey winger, who has been largely excellent for Pompey since arriving from Oxford United last summer, looked up for it from minute one and played with a point to prove against Cardiff.

Andy Rinomhota never looked comfortable facing off with Murphy, often backtracking and allowing far, far too much space for the 29-year-old to exploit. And after just nine minutes on the clock, Pompey were ahead.

Having latched on to a sloppy back pass from Cardiff winger Cian Ashford, Murphy drove with the ball and skipped gleefully inside past Calum Chambers and Rinomhota before playing in Colby Bishop, who slotted home with a cool finish.

Not finished there, Murphy then saw a curling strike from distance palmed away from Jak Alnwick but proved the provider once again on the 20-minute mark when his corner was met by Conor Shaughnessy.

The former Norwich City flyer was a continual thorn in the Cardiff side. His crossing and creativity routinely carved the Bluebirds open, while they were all-but-powerless to subdue his electric runs for the opening half-hour.

Murphy, like Portsmouth, eventually became less threatening as the game went on, but his two moments of real brilliance made all the difference and represented the latest reminder of an X-Factor player with all the star quality to direct this side to survival.

Josh Murphy could keep Portsmouth FC in the Championship

Murphy’s creativity could promise to have a decisive say in the division Portsmouth are plying their trade in come August.

It would be a fair assessment to say that none of the other sides in the relegation battle - namely Stoke City, Cardiff, Derby County, Hull, Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle - have a maverick forward player of such proven high-quality at this level, and Murphy is displaying the kind of form which prompted the Bluebirds to shell out one of the largest fees in their history after achieving promotion to the top-flight.

Indeed, no player in the Championship has created more big chances than Murphy’s 13, while his often-telepathic chemistry with Colby Bishop has helped him to accumulate eight assists and get the best out of the talismanic striker.

Murphy has now sealed the finest individual league campaign of his career with 13 direct goal involvements, but he’s not slowing down and will likely finish the season with a much higher tally yet.

Portsmouth are 18th in the Championship with a four-point margin over 22nd-placed Hull City.

It’s worth noting the Tigers have two games in hand, of course, and they also look good value to stay up under Ruben Selles, but that’s not likely to be at Pompey’s expense, and they will owe large thanks to Murphy if they retain their second-tier status for 2025/26.