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It may not conform to traditional football ideals of beauty but you have to admire Derby and how well-coached they are, especially off the ball, while with Sam Szmodics, Patrick Agyemang, Carlton Morris, Ben Brereton Diaz and Rhian Brewster, they have enough attacking options where someone will likely conjure a piece of magic at some stage.

It was Szmodics who delivered tonight but, at the same time, do not read this as some kind of smash and grab because Agyemang and Joe Ward also struck the woodwork and with the dominant defensive performances of Matt Clarke, Derry Murkin, Dion Sanderson and Ward, they were well worth their win.

For Pompey, they simply do not have a multi-faceted threat when it comes to scoring goals and for all the touches they had in the opposition final third, that lack of edge when it counts leaves them fighting for survival.

We will be back tomorrow for more action from the Championship as Watford host Wrexham, which will carry a large degree of interest in Derby, plus there is a full programme of games in League One and League Two.

Thanks for joining us, have a pleasant evening and bye for now.

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East Midlands meets West Midlands as Derby host Birmingham at Pride Park on Saturday, in a contest that takes on additional significance beyond geography and the John Eustace connection given the situation inside the top 10.

A win for the Rams and it furthers their play-off cause while also increasing the gap on one of their rivals, but if Blues can reel them back in it widens the race once again.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, travel to QPR in a fixture that before last weekend looked to be a perfect one to cure any goalscoring ills.

Julien Stephan's side had shipped 12 goals inside a four-match losing streak but pulled a real performance out of the bag on Saturday to win 3-1 at Leicester.

Portsmouth

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Portsmouth manager John Mousinho, speaking to Sky Sports.

"A bit of deja vu with the home performance over the last couple of weeks, the goal was just a good bit of quality.

"The effort levels were there, we got in some really good positions but the quality wasn't there in the final third."

On the goal: "We could probably deal with the first ball a bit better, sometimes you have to live with those. The more disappointing part was on our set-plays, we didn't look as threatening.

"In terms of the personnel, we tried different personnel tonight across the front four and from my perspective it was just about quality - not just the front four but everyone when we got into those areas."

On his side's home form: "The most important thing is to not worry about that, we have two away games against QPR and Norwich to focus on, but that's something we need to address.

"The frustration from my point of view is that we're not playing these games at home and getting blown away.

"Again, I sound like a broken record but there's stuff we need to improve on."

Derby County

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Derby County manager John Eustace, speaking to Sky Sports after his side's 1-0 win:

"It was all about hard work and togetherness, the lads battled really well.

"We started the game really well in tough conditions, it's always hard to stamp your authority here, there were lots of long balls and pressure to deal with.

"I was really disappointed when we won the ball, we were not good enough on the transition, but to get a 1-0 win here on a Monday night is a real positive."

On the goal: "Sammie is a top striker at this level, you give him time and space in those areas and I expect him to find the net. He took it really well."

On his side's play-off chances: "We take every game as it comes, try to be competitive in each game and see where it takes us."

It is becoming a familiar tale for Portsmouth at Fratton Park: have loads of the ball, send in a number of shots but fail to truly trouble the opposition.

Add that to their inability to consistently defend set-pieces and it is a worrying mix.

That said, they do seem like issues that theoretically can be fixed and maybe it's marginally better than not creating anything at all... but, then again, for all the dots above and xG of 1.72 did they ever really look like beating Richard O'Donnell?

Quantity over quality, I'm afraid...

Derby County

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Derby County defender Matt Clarke, speaking to Sky Sports:

"It was just a proper game to play in. It's never easy playing after everyone, you know you need to win.

"Every week you have to be clinical in their box and defend your box for your life. We know that and we pride ourselves on that."

Goalscorer Sammie Szmodics added:

"It's a chance I've been waiting for, I'm happy to score but we don't win games without big men in there defending well all game.

"I think we deserved all three points."

On his gametime at Derby: "I love playing regular football, the lads are great."

Changes to the laws this season mean that goalkeepers will be penalised if they hold onto the ball for more than eight seconds with a corner being awarded to the opposition.

Derby's complaints were, I think, centred around the fact there were a number of Pompey players around O'Donnell effectively preventing him from clearing the ball.

No change in the table in terms of the positions but it is an important win for Derby, who keep pace with Southampton and create a bit of daylight between them and Birmingham City.

Portsmouth remain outside the bottom three but with wins for West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn this weekend, it is so close that nobody is feeling remotely comfortable down there.

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Derby were disciplined, Pompey too passive.

The game's only moment of quality decides things at Fratton Park as Sam Szmodics' early strike proves the difference.

A fourth home defeat in a row for Pompey and all by a single-goal margin which tells its own tale.

The home side huffed and puffed but never really looked capable of blowing Derby's house down and the Rams defending was excellent throughout.

Szmodics' fine volley earned the points but you have to tip your hat to the performances of Matt Clarke, Dion Sanderson, Joe Ward and Derry Murkin plus, of course, the evergreen Richard O'Donnell.

But, then again, the latter simply was not tested enough.

The Rams remain eighth but are so well-coached and you can see them sticking around in the play-off race all the way to the end.

That will be that as the ball bobbles around in the area before Marlon Pack slams a shot into the stands.

Late drama here as Richard O'Donnell is penalised for holding onto the ball for too long and Pompey have one last corner.

There's a real goalmouth scramble as it looks to drop to Regan Poole or Conor Shaughnessy but Derby defend it.

It can't be John Eustace because he's up in the stands having earned three yellow cards over the season, but a member of his coaching staff has just been cautioned for complaining about a free-kick.

Oscar Fraulo earns Derby's sixth yellow card of the game with a swipe on Adrian Segecic.

There is going to be a slight break in play because Richard O'Donnell goes down with an injury to his chest he is definitely not making the most of...

The board goes up and Pompey have six minutes to find an equaliser while Derby have six to see this out... or score a second.