Portsmouth manager John Mousinho was pleased to see his side extend their unbeaten league run to 17 games with a 3-1 win over Peterborough.
Colby Bishop was among the goals as Pompey came from behind to take the points.
Mousinho said: “We didn’t start particularly well but we became more consistent as the game went on, especially in the second half. I thought in that second period that we were the only side that looked like scoring.
“It seems to be a pivotal moment in the season by putting a marker down against one of the best teams in the league.
“We changed the way we pressed early on because (Peterborough defender Ronnie) Edwards was having too much time on the ball bringing it out.
“After that, I felt that we got the bit between the teeth having gone a goal down.
“The only criticism I would have is that we didn’t get a fourth, but we defended extremely well especially when down to 10 men.”
Posh took the lead after 20 minutes minutes as, with plenty of room and only one defender to beat, Ricky Jade Jones cut inside and curled the ball into the far corner.
Pompey equalised in the 38th minute when a Marlon Pack cross found Bishop, who headed home from close range.
Within five minutes, Pompey had the lead. A corner from the right saw Kwame Poku slice the ball into his own six-yard box for a surprised Abu Kamara to sweep home.
After Hector Kyprianou headed against his own bar, Pompey increased their lead after 59 minutes when a powerful low cross from Kamara saw Regan Poole net from close range.
Joe Morrell saw red after a second yellow five minutes from time, but Pompey held on for the points despite nine added minutes of play.
Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson said: “It’s a disappointing result. Nobody likes losing, but that’s three defeats in a row now.
“We’ve got an extremely young squad and I’m not sure we are quite ready yet for this sort of game.
“It’s always a difficult place to come and we need to learn to keep our focus and concentration. That is key to getting results. We just haven’t got that ruthless touch at the moment.
“We started well. Ricky scored and missed a good chance for 2-0. He was a thorn in their side until he went off. He turned his ankle after hitting the barriers, took another knock after that, and had to come off.”
Simeone confident for Madrid derby despite lack of rest time
Atletico Madrid's lack of preparation time has not dampened Diego Simeone's confidence ahead of Sunday's clash with Real Madrid, with the Argentine hoping their past derby successes can provide inspiration.
Atleti are unbeaten through their first seven games of the season in LaLiga, winning four and drawing three to sit third in the table, two points behind their cross-city rivals.
Los Colchoneros have, however, had two fewer days to prepare for the first Madrid derby of the season, having beaten Celta Vigo 1-0 on Thursday. Carlo Ancelotti's champions, meanwhile, downed Alaves 3-2 on Tuesday.
Atleti do boast a strong record against Los Blancos, being the only team to beat them in any competition last season – once in LaLiga last September and again in the Copa del Rey in January.
Simeone has masterminded 12 wins in his 43 Madrid derbies as Atletico coach (15 draws, 16 losses), as many victories as they managed in their previous 77 prior to his arrival.
Speaking at Saturday's pre-match press conference, Simeone told reporters: "A lot has changed up to this moment.
"It's an aspect in which we’ve improved, and that’s why the club has grown as it has, and the team is held to the standards it is.
"Everything starts in the mind. Beyond the physical aspect, which can have an influence at times, motivation is an important weapon for everything in life."
The Argentine did admit the lack of preparation time posed a unique challenge, adding: "It's tough to change things in two days, based on what we've been doing.
"We are still in the process of finding our balance, we are adapting and we get it right more or less. But it is true that we need more time.
"We accept it as it is. We said it before when we went to play against Athletic Bilbao in the (Copa del Rey) semi-final, them with five days and us with two days of rest. No-one cares."
Atleti's only home defeat so far this year came in February's Copa del Rey semi-final against Athletic, who went on to win that trophy.
While Madrid have plenty of firepower despite Kylian Mbappe missing out due to injury, Simeone feels Sunday's visitors will miss the influence of retired midfielder Toni Kroos.
"The opponent has lost a very important player like Kroos," he said. "I think they are looking for that player who gives them that calm to take advantage of all their offensive power."
International record goalscorer Sinclair to retire after NWSL season
Christine Sinclair, the all-time record goalscorer in international football, will retire at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League in November.
Sinclair, 41, has 190 goals in 331 appearances for Canada, making her the top scorer across both men's and women's football.
She has played for the NWSL's Portland Thorns since 2013, helping them to win the inaugural title that year. She added further league crowns to her collection in 2017 and 2022.
The Canadian great has had similar success with her national team, winning a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is also one of three players to score at five World Cups, alongside Brazil's Marta and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sinclair retired from international football in December 2023, and will now call time on her club career.
"Portland, thank you will never be enough. Soccer has been my passion since I was four years old and it has taken me on a journey I could never have imagined," Sinclair wrote on Instagram.
"As I finish out this last ride, I want to say what a privilege it has been to represent this unique, beautiful, and passionate city that I will always call home."
St. Louis City v Sporting Kansas City: This rivalry is important to MLS, says Hackworth
John Hackworth believes St. Louis City's derby with Sporting Kansas City is key to MLS as they resume their rivalry on Saturday.
The last two meetings between the sides have finished level, with both ending in dramatic fashion.
St. Louis City come into the latest edition having lost just one of their last six outings, though that was their last home match.
They sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, level on points with Sporting above them, and Hackworth is now keen to build on the momentum from their win over San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday.
"We talked about trying to finish these last five games with a lot of momentum, showing our fans what we were capable of," Hackworth said.
"We knew we had to go on the road in one of these three games and be successful, and now we just need to build on that.
"This rivalry is really important to our league. It's two teams who are going to go after it and play by their principles, leaving it all out there to see what happens - two dramatic draws set us up for this contest."
Meanwhile, Kansas City have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions and suffered a 3-1 defeat to Los Angeles FC in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday.
Head coach Peter Vermes was left disappointed by the result but believes there are positives to take from the performance.
"I give the guys a lot of credit. I'm very proud of the effort that the guys put into that game," Vermes said.
"It never feels good to lose. But I also think that the group did themselves proud in the way they performed. We had good responses in that game, but in the end, we fell short."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert
Cedric Teuchert scored in the fourth minute in each of St. Louis City's last two matches.
Teuchert is one of six players to score more than one goal in the opening four minutes of matches this season and the second to do so in consecutive matches (Mikael Uhre).
Sporting Kansas City – Tim Melia
Both goals Sporting Kansas City conceded in their loss to Minnesota United on Saturday came in the final 30 minutes.
Sporting have allowed 31 goals in the final 30 minutes of matches this season, only San Jose (33) has allowed more, and Tim Melia will be hoping his concentration levels can improve ahead of Saturday's match.
MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN
St. Louis City have lost only two of their last 10 matches in all competitions (W4 D4), including picking up a 2-1 win at San Jose on Saturday. St. Louis have not won two straight matches in all competitions since wins over Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City last September.
Sporting have lost 10 of their last 12 regular-season away matches, including a 2-0 loss in Seattle in their last league road match. Only league-worst San Jose (11) have lost more away matches this season than Sporting (10).
However, Kansas City are unbeaten in four straight meetings with St. Louis (W2 D2) after St. Louis won two of the first three encounters. This will be the eighth meeting between St. Louis and Kansas City, totaling 10.4 % (8/77) of all of St. Louis' games in all competitions up to this point.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 43.4%
Draw – 26.7%
Sporting Kansas City – 29.9%
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