Adrian Segecic scores in winning English Championship debut for Portsmouth
The former Sydney FC star, who shared Golden Boot honours last season with Adelaide United's Archie Goodwin, hit the target on Sunday morning (AEST) in Pompey's 1-0 away win over Oxford United.
'I scored a goal and the team picked up all three points – I couldn't really ask for a better debut than that,' a delighted Segecic told his club's website.
Segecic produced a composed finish in the 38th minute when the ball fell for him on the edge of the penalty area after a shot from teammate Colby Bishop had been saved by Oxford goalkeeper Jamie Cumming.
'I thought Colby was going to put the ball in the back of the net, but it fell for me perfectly on my left foot,' he said.
'That's the area where I'm most clinical.'
Debut DELIGHT. ✨ pic.twitter.com/eXiR8He2GL
— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) August 9, 2025
Segecic felt 'pretty relaxed' before the game.
'I know that if I work hard when I'm on the pitch, then the rest will take care of itself,' he said.
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho was thrilled with Segecic's display.
'I thought Adrian was great,' Mousinho said.
'Not only did he get the winning goal, but the workrate was absolutely superb. The pressing as a number 10 was great and he was able to find those pockets.
'I was impressed with his debut.'
Segecic was replaced in stoppage time by another Australian attacker, former Brisbane Roar striker Thomas Waddingham, while Socceroos defender Hayden Matthews was an unused substitute for Pompey.
However, while it was good news for Segecic, former A-League prodigy Nestory Irankunda tasted defeat in his official debut for Watford.
Irankunda, who moved last month from Bayern Munich to the Hornets, was a second-half substitute in the English Championship club's 1-0 away loss to Charlton Athletic.
With the score at 0-0 deep into the contest, 19-year-old Irankunda seemed to be brought down in the penalty area by Charlton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski.
However, the referee waved play on, with Charlton soon after securing all three points with a stoppage-time goal from Harvey Knibbs.
Meanwhile, Socceroos pair Sam Silvera and Cameron Burgess went head-to-head at Riverside Stadium, and it was former Central Coast Mariners star Silvera that came out on top as part of a Middlesbrough side that beat Burgess' Swansea outfit 1-0.
Elsewhere on the opening weekend of the English Championship season, Australian midfielder Massimo Luongo came off the bench in his Millwall side's 2-1 away win over Norwich City, while Socceroos right-back Lewis Miller was also a second-half substitute in his debut for a Blackburn Rovers side that suffered a 1-0 away loss to West Bromwich Albion.
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