Comeback kid's performance justifies Portsmouth boss' January outgoing stance

Charlton's new red-hot talisman looked to engineer his side a goal to cut the deficit - only to be stopped by someone who'd been in the Blues wilderness before The Valley meeting.

James Bolton got across to thwart Liverpool loanee Millar in his tracks, making a brave block to at the near post to concede a corner.

It was a heroic piece defending from the ex-Shrewsbury man and one that epitomised his performance.

Plenty brows would have been furrowed across the PO area when the Blues' team news emerged at The Valley.

We’d been told Rasmus Nicolaisen was supposed to start alongside Sean Raggett in central defence in place of the suspended Jack Whatmough.

Nicolaisen was absent, however, to be at the birth of his second child. Instead, Bolton stood in for a first league appearance of the season.

Despite featuring 33 times during the 2019-20 campaign, the amicable defender's found himself on the fringes this term.

Callum Johnson was recruited to be first-choice right-back, while the hurtling progress of Haji Mnoga saw him leapfrog Bolton in Jackett's selection thoughts.

Naturally, there were concerns how the ex-Halifax man would fare against a promotion rival in Charlton.

Those fears were quickly allayed, though. Bolton settled into a rhythm and defended admirably as Pompey clinched a 3-1 victory.

Bar losing a couple of headers to Jayden Stockley – who will win aerial duels over every other defender in League One – Bolton couldn't be faulted throughout the evening.

It was a true comeback kid's performance.

And it also justified why Jackett was so reluctant to allow any more of his fringe players to depart after Reeco Hackett-Fairchild and Bryn Morris during the January transfer window.

Bolton would likely have been keen to leave himself last month after consistently being left out of match-day squads in the first half of the season.

However, Pompey's boss made it clear that no-one would be heading through the exit door unless a replacement was sought.

Jackett was wary of the congested fixture list, the risk of injuries and potential coronavirus cases in his squad.

Then, of course, there are other absences that can occur such as Nicolaisen's.

There could have been a temptation to offload Bolton and bring in a fresh face who'd be closer to the starting XI.

Instead, Jackett resisted and put faith in those on the periphery.

Now Bolton's likely to again start against Plymouth on Saturday and another impervious display will keep him in the starting line-up frame even when Nicolaisen and Whatmough are back.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

The News has launched a new subscription offer which gives you unlimited access to all of our Pompey coverage, starting at less than £1 a week.

You can subscribe here to get the latest news and transfer updates from Fratton Park - and to support our local team of expert Pompey writers.