Sikker sejr på lidt billig baggrund og et clean sheet langt om længe.

Det blev en sikker hjemmesejr på 4-0 til Pompey, der da de først kom foran, ikke lod modstanderne komme ind i kampen, og i alt, ja der mønstrede Notts County blot 1 skud på mål.

Her stod Paul Jones, og han kunne notere et clean sheet på en dag, hvor gæsterne nok havde bolden en del i starten, men ikke for alvor blev farlige.

Udover Jones i målet, ja så var der plads til Roberts, McGurk og Clarke, mens Webster, McNulty og Naismith måtte starte på bænken.

Specielt Webster var noget overraskende.

I front var det store Michael Smith der fik chancen igen, Paul Cook vil åbenbart have store fysiske spillere oppe foran.

Gæsterne startede friske nok, og var nok interesseret i at vise deres nye manager hvad de kunne, men som første halvleg skred frem, der kunne kampen ikke just leve op til højt niveau.

Så Kyle Bennets mål i slutningen af første halvleg, var noget at glæde sig over. Målet i øvrigt sat enkelt og godt sat ind.

Efter pausen lukkede Pompey kampen, efter 4 min satte Roberts Kyle Bennet op, og han svigtede ikke og scorede til 2-0.
Så gik dampen af gæsterne, som dog havde en enkelt stor chance, da Jones tabte bolden, men tættere kom de ikke.
Pompey spillede stille og roligt og havde ikke travlt, men lå og lurede på hurtige omstillinger.

Burgess, satte 3-0 målet, efter Enda Stevens andet oplæg i kampen. Det fine indlæg blev udnyttet fint.
I overtiden, ja så viste McNulty at det er ham der skal satses på. Han var kommet ind i anden halvleg, og headede 4-0 målet ind efter Davies havde smidt et godt frispark ind over.

Med sejren, ja så ligger Pompey 5 point fra 3.pladsen og der er 4 point ned til 8.pladsen. Pompey skal fastholde momentum nu.

Det gælder Wimbledon ude påskemandag, en kamp du kan se live på TV

Notts County manager Mark Cooper

«A lot of people told me before I came, that Notts conceded a lot of goals,»
«For 42 minutes, we saw them off but then the softest of goals unlocks us. It changed the whole complexion of the game.

«If you look at all four goals they did not come from brilliant play. Just mark your man and make sure you win the headers.

«The players have to take responsibility, because they have had three managers, different permutations, different teams, different systems, but if you don’t want to head the ball when it comes into the box you’ve got no chance.

«For the first goal there was no danger. Kyle Bennett picks the ball up 15 yards inside our half, he runs down the touchline and rolls it into the net.

«You could go and watch a game on the park and that wouldn’t happen.»

Pompey manager Paul Cook:

‘When we play well we can put teams under pressure.

‘Today we put Notts County under a lot of pressure and got the goals you get from that type of pressure.

‘I believe we have the players in this squad to win games.

‘Football is up and down and today we had a good day. But it’s about putting that to bed now and preparing for Wimbledon.’

Kommentarer fra The News:

Bennett was as good today as he was bad last Sat against Mansfield

What today’s great performance & result showed us is, that on their day, Pompey are as good, if not better, than anyone in this league. We overcame the bullying tactics and a truly dreadful referee and played the type of game that, had we done it earlier in the season, would have turned many of those draws into victories.

If the players needed to know how to get the crowd on their side then they provided the answer themselves by getting stuck in, winning tackles, playing with pride & determination and, of course, creating & taking chances. Bennett, so often such a frustrating performer, had possibly his best game today, Doyle and Hollands were tigerish thoughout, Davies was his usual self, with Burgess & Clarke dealing efficiently with everything that came their way. Roberts showed, in glimpses, what he is capable of & was unlucky not to score, shortly before he went off. Considering his lack of match practice of late, I would have given the MoM to Clarke for a very impressive display.

What a shame that we are left to wonder whether or not promotion is still a possibility. Had we seen more of the type of performances we witnessed this afternoon then we would already have one foot in Division 1. More of the same on Monday, and every remaining match, and the dream could still become a reality.

It’s amazing what can happen when you have a few efforts on goal….

We mustn’t be fooled though, Notts County were very poor and had maybe a couple of chances the whole game and came to foul and hang on for a point…

Glad Cooky has finally listened to the fans clamouring for a bit of width, me included

League One, Fratton Park, 25.marts 2016

Portsmouth – Notts County 4-0 (1-0)

44 min 1-0 Bennett

49 min 2-0 Bennett

81 min 3-0 Burgess

90+1 min 4-0 McNulty

Pompey (4-2-3-1): Jones; Davies, Burgess, Clarke, Stevens; Hollands, Doyle (c); McGurk (Naismith 67), Roberts (McNulty 84), Bennett; Smith (Chaplin 84)

Advarslet: Hollands

Bænken: Bass, Webster, Close, Evans, Naismith, McNulty, Chaplin

Tilskuere: 16,670 (485 away fans)