Jackett lauds Pompey resilience

Skipper Brett Pitman netted twice and Oli Hawkins registered his maiden Blues goal in a 3-0 triumph at Fratton Park.

Yet there were occasions when the hosts had to dig in with some gutsy defending to keep Rovers at bay, particularly during the first half.

And Jackett was pleased with the determination displayed by his side, who have now risen to 11th in League One.

He said: ‘It was nice to bounce back, a good clean sheet and some clinical goals.

‘I felt on the balance of play Bristol Rovers got on top of us in the first half and we did well to hang in there, very well.

‘As a side we defended excellently and stayed in the game. I cannot remember a chance they had in a period where they were on top, particularly in midfield.

‘McGee came outside his box and blocked one - very brave goalkeeping and a good decision - but after that he hasn’t had a save to make in a period I thought they were on top.

‘Playing two forwards you can lose out in midfield sometimes, but by the end my two forwards have scored three goals between them and that is the trade off as manager.

‘I’m pleased with the team, we stuck in there when we needed to, got the first goal - which was the key one - and then really built on that in the second half.

‘By the end we could have maybe had more.’