'Don’t underestimate what a good performance this is': Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley's joy at eye-catching victory at Ipswich

The high-flying Tractor men suffered only their third home defeat of the season as the Blues pulled off a 2-0 victory to progress in the Papa John’s Trophy.

Dane Scarlett and substitute Zak Swanson both netted as the hosts were booed at the final whistle after being unable to break down a defence marshalled superbly by Michael Morrison.

It was a welcome fourth win in 13 games for a team which has stuttered of late following an exhilarating start to the League One season.

And that outcome – plus the manner in which it was achieved – delighted Cowley.

He told The News: ‘It was a really good performance for us.

‘The name of the competition is irrelevant to us, it’s about day in, day out being relentless, whether it’s training or it’s a game, to try to perform at our best.

‘We have won some cup games in recent times, just drawn some tight league games – and that’s the truth.

‘We are an honest group, we will never come up short in the effort or the attitude stakes. Sometimes it’s maybe a little short in quality, but never in effort and attitude.

‘It shows what we are capable of. It was a really organised performance, an honest, hard-working display, and I think showed the spirit within the group.

‘Collectively it was the organisation against the ball, the way the players ran for each other, the way they fought for each other, we were really intelligent with the way we pressed, we were able to get lots and lots of turnovers high up the pitch which led to chances.

‘When we couldn't get pressure on the ball we stayed together and were able to pick them off on the counter attack.

‘Don’t underestimate what a good performance this is because Ipswich are a top team. For me they have the best players in the division, their second team would finish in the play-offs in League One in my opinion.

‘So to go there and win, leaving some big players at home, some big players on the bench, was really pleasing.’

Pompey must wait until the last-16 draw is made at 4.30pm on Thursday to discover their next Papa John’s Trophy opposition.

In the meantime, Cowley has every right to be pleased with how the Blues have got this far.

He added: ‘Ipswich had a lot of the ball in the first half, but we had all the chances and really should have gone in 2-0 up at half-time.

‘Whenever we got the first pass off we were able to start a counter and I thought created lots of clear-cut chances in both half.

‘It’s a wonderful place to play football, it’s a really tough place to come, they have good players, are well coached and we needed to be at our very, very best – and we were.’