Callum Lang and Ibane Bowat struck in front of the Fratton End to secure a comeback victory for Pompey.
The Blues are now up to 21st in the second tier, up to 20 points, one above Oxford United on 19 points, who have moved down to 22nd.
After going 1-0 in the first half after Yūki Ōhashi’s opening goal, a second-half strike from Callum Lang and a winning header from Ibane Bowat earned the Blues a well-needed 3 points.
Ahead of today’s tie, John Mousinho’s side had not won since that 3-1 victory at home to Millwall over three weeks ago.
There was one change to the side that was defeated 1-0 by Swansea City in midweek.
Andre Dozzell came in for Marlon Pack, who was not included in today’s matchday squad.
Josh Murphy and Terry Devlin tested Ainsley Pears early on, with shots that had too much power for the Rovers keeper to catch, with both efforts being parried back into play.
John Swift lost possession to Sidnei Tavares, where he played in Ōhashi, who then drifted past Andre Dozzell and Terry Devlin, before slotting the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of Nicolas Schmid’s net to make it 1-0, 36 minutes gone.
HALF-TIME: Portsmouth 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
There was a change at half-time, with Colby Bishop replacing Min-hyeok Yang, and he was handed the captain’s armband by Murphy.
Before Pompey’s opening goal, several efforts were peppered towards Pears by Connor Chaplin, then Lang, and then Chaplin again.
Lang was then able to find that equaliser, when Murphy swopped a left-footed cross to the back post, where the number 49 was on guard to tap the ball home to make it 1-1.
Portsmouth then won the tie with just over ten minutes to go, when Bowat leapt up and headed home Conor Chaplin’s left-footed corner to make it 2-1 and put the Blues ahead after going a goal down.
FULL-TIME: Portsmouth 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
Next up: Back on the road for Portsmouth, who will visit Derby County at Pride Park next Saturday.
The Rams are currently 16th in the table on 27 points, and have been without a win in their past three Championship fixtures.
Last season, it was a 4-0 defeat on a December Friday night in the East Midlands for Portsmouth.
Portsmouth: 1. Schmid (GK), 24. Devlin, 14. Matthews (2. Williams), 17. Bowat, 22. Swanson, 21. Dozzell, 8. Swift (18. Kosznovszky), 47. Min-hyeok (9. Bishop) 23. Murphy (C), 36. Chaplin, 49. Lang (Formation: 4-2-3-1)
Unused subs: 26. Bursik (GK), 10. Segečić, 16. Le Roux, 25. Kirk, 29. Blair, 44. Sizer
Goals: Lang 62’, Bowat 79’
Bookings: Matthews 54’, Lang 59’
Head coach: John Mousinho
Blackburn Rovers: 1. Pears (GK), 2. Alebiosu, 12. Miller, 15. McLoughlin, 4. Ribeiro, 8. Tavares (6. Tronstad), 25. Morishita (24. Baradji), 14. De Neve (18. Henriksson), 10. Cantwell (C) ( 5. Gardner-Hickman), 23. Ōhashi, 11. Guðjohnsen (9. Gueye) (Formation: 3-4-1-2)
Unused subs: 35. Michalski (GK), 3. Pickering, 40. Litherland, 43. Pratt
Goals: Ōhashi 36’
Bookings: Ōhashi 28’, Alebiosu 35’, Miller 45+4’
Head coach: Valérien Ismaël
Referee: Tim Robinson
Venue: Fratton Park
Attendance: 19,652 (including 695 Blackburn fans)
Express FM's post-match assessment, presented LIVE on scene by Jake Smith, Kirsty Roxanne and James Wilson, is now available to listen back to: Pompey Live: Extra-Time podcast
Be sure to listen to the next instalment of The Football Hour on Monday (December 15th) evening between 6-7pm for even more reaction and analysis to the Blues' 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Fratton Park.
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