SUMMARY
Blackburn's Jason Roberts recovered from a bout of swine flu to leave Portsmouth feeling sick themselves as Blackburn Rovers came from behind to claim three priceless Barclays Premier League points.
Roberts came off the bench at the break to steer a 52nd-minute equaliser past David James. He also added Rovers' third goal to add to Ryan Nelsen's second.
The win brought sighs of relief all round for the home side - and especially manager Sam Allardyce, whose half-time changes proved successful.
The combined power of Jason Roberts with Franco Di Santo and Benni McCarthy was enough to pull Rovers clear of the relegation zone.
For Portsmouth however, the late drama provided a painful return to reality following their emphatic 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic last week. They had hoped their terrible start to the season might have been a thing of the past.
FULL REPORT
Rovers started best in their attempt to exit the relegation zone. A shot from Pascal Chimbonda caused chaos in the Portsmouth box and almost presented a shooting chance for El-Hadji Diouf.
In a quiet opening period, Portsmouth's Younes Kaboul and O'Hara had weak shots for the visitors - while Anthony Vanden Borre missed a half-chance.
But Pompey's lead came out of nowhere when Aruna Dindane fed O'Hara in centre field and he beat Robinson with a low left-foot shot from 30 yards.
Rovers were offering next to nothing in response, and frustration grew among the home fans as Marc Wilson came close to heading a second goal by out-jumping the home defenders.
El-Hadji Diouf got behind the Pompey defence on the half-hour only to be let down by a poor final ball which was cleared by Portsmouth as their defence held firm.
Rovers' problems were summed up in the 33rd minute when Morten Gamst Pedersen sent a free-kick high and wide when 30 yards from goal.
At half-time, Allardyce had no choice but to ring the changes - introducing Roberts and McCarthy in place of Diouf and Pedersen.
Successful substitutions
The hosts finally managed their first shot on target in the 48th minute when Pascal Chimbonda played the ball out to Dunn - whose effort from a tight angle was easily held by Pompey keeper James.
But Pompey came close to grabbing a second goal in the 50th minute when O'Hara hit a curling free-kick from the left and Kaboul rose to send his header just wide of the goal.
The manager's double substitution paid off when Nelsen headed down Dunn's corner in the box, and Roberts reacted quickest to send the equaliser past keeper James.
There was another half chance for Roberts when he almost squeezed through the Portsmouth defence. Meanwhile Portsmouth remained a danger when O'Hara hit another long-range shot into Robinson's arms.
Blackburn's superb 73rd-minute header from a corner put the home side in front in what was only the second goal scored by Nelson in almost five years at the club.
Roberts wrapped up the points five minutes from time when he stole into the box to put the finishing touches to a left-wing cross from McCarthy.
Match Quotes
"The players seemed to let the nerves get to them a little bit but they overcame their nerves and got a good result, so full marks to them in the end." - Sam Allardyce
"This is a setback but we're used to picking ourselves up and we'll do it again." - Paul Hart
