Pompey 1 Luton 0: Neil Allen's match ratings

It was an important success for Paul Cook’s side who are now four points off a top-three place...

Pompey

David Forde - Reliable performance 7

Gareth Evans - Tireless showing 7

Christian Burgess - Tower of strength 8

Matt Clarke - Absolutely immense 9

Enda Stevens - Solid display 7

Michael Doyle - Didn’t give an inch 7

Danny Rose (84 mins Amine Linganzi) - Snapped away 7

Carl Baker (80 mins Noel Hunt) - Another dead-ball assist 8

Kal Naismith - So dangerous at present 8

Kyle Bennett (68 mins Gary Roberts - Spot kick agony 5) - Gave his all 7

Michael Smith - Gave everything he had 7

Subs Not Used; Liam O’Brien, Milan Lalkovic, Jack Whatmough, Conor Chaplin.

Luton

Christian Walton - Couldn’t be faulted 7

Stephen O’Donnell - Gave away decisive free-kick 6

Johnny Mullins - Defended okay 6

Scott Cuthbert - Rock solid 9

James Justin - Did well 7

Glen Rea - Couldn’t impose himself 5

Alex Gilliead (54 mins Olly Lee - Got away with penalty mistake 6) - Barely noticeable 6

Jonathan Smith - Covered so much ground 7

Cameron McGeehan (20 mins Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu - Settled in well 7)

Jordan Cook (54 mins Isaac Vassell - Pepped team up 7)

Danny Hylton - So much heart 8

Subs Not Used; Craig King, Jack Marriott, Jack Senior, Josh McQuoid.

Attendance; 17,402 (1,547 away)

Referee; Tim Robinson (West Sussex) - Got the big decisions rights 8

Man of the match; Matt Clarke - Dominant figure at the back and a massive presence during some testing times defensively during the second half.

We Want Him; Scott Cuthbert - Stood firm for Luton throughout, winning everything in the air and ruled on the ground.

We Don’t Want Him; Glen Rea - Given the job of sitting in front of the back four, yet he couldn’t stem the flow of Pompey during the first half as the hosts dominated.

Magic Moment: A hard-fought contest was settled by Carl Baker’s quality from dead balls, his 31st minute delivery headed home by Christian Burgess.

Their Manager: Nathan Jones - After dominated in the first half, his side were a different proposition once changing to wing-backs but couldn’t find that equaliser.