Sam Szmodics' 100th league goal kept Derby firmly in the Championship play-off hunt thanks to a narrow 1-0 victory over relegation-threatened Portsmouth.

Ipswich loanee Szmodics, who has also played for Colchester, Blackburn, Peterborough and Bristol City, scored the only goal of the match in the eighth minute, after being gifted space in the penalty box.

It meant the Rams ended a three-match losing streak on the road and sit just three points outside the top six.

For Portsmouth, they lost a fourth-successive fixture at Fratton Park for the first time since the 2013/14 season, have not beaten Derby in 12 attempts and languish just a point above the drop zone.

Image: Sam Szmodics scored Derby's winner at Fratton Park

Derby scored with the first proper chance of the game when Szmodics smashed the ball home from the middle of the penalty box.

Derry Murkin's corner had been half-cleared by Jacob Brown but Szmodics controlled and fired in his second goal for the Rams - to the joy of Keith Downing, who replaced the suspended John Eustace on the touchline.

They almost doubled their lead in the 16th minute when Patrick Agyemang...