Sunderland's will take a one-goal advantage into their play-off semi-final second leg at Fratton Park.
Chris Maguire's second-half goal was the difference between the Black Cats and Portsmouth on a tense night at the Stadium of Light.
The substitute rifled home a superb shot to give Sunderland the lead.
But Jack Ross' men had to hang on late in the game after Alim Ozturk was sent off for a foul on Gareth Evans.
It was a decision which shocked the stadium, with most feeling it should have just been a yellow at most.
The Black Cats held out however for a valuable win ahead of Thursday night's second leg.
Here's how James Hunter rated the players.
JON McLAUGHLIN 7
A surprisingly quiet night but what he had to do, he did well
LUKE O'NIEN 6
Kept Lowe under control and did OK going forward
ALIM OZTURK 6
Sending off looked harsh. Up to then he had done very well against Hawkins
TOM FLANAGAN 7
No mistakes and made some important interventions
BRYAN OVIEDO 7
Delivered some dangerous crosses, one of which led to the goal
LEE CATTERMOLE 7
Passing was patchy in the first half but he improved in the second half
MAX POWER 6
Good energy in the middle of the park
LYNDEN GOOCH 7
Lively and caused Pompey problems until he came off following Ozturk's red card
GEORGE HONEYMAN 6
Almost scored with a close-range header that hit the keeper in the face
LEWIS MORGAN 5
Saw plenty of the ball, no shortage of effort, but end product was lacking
CHARLIE WYKE 7
Held the ball up well and had a couple of half-chances but couldn't convert
SUBS
CHRIS MAGUIRE 8
For Morgan 58mins. The game changed when he came on. Scored the goal and hit the woodwork
JIMMY DUNNE 6
For Gooch 70mins. Helped Sunderland keep a clean sheet despite being shorthanded
NOT USED: Ruiter, Matthews, Hume, Grigg, Leadbitter
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