Fleetwood 0 Portsmouth 1: Neil Allen's verdict - Flawed but display irrelevant as Blues embrace precious win

John Mousinho and Rich Hughes thundered a high handshake before warmly embracing amid biting Lancashire winds.

It has become largely customary for Pompey's sporting director to head pitchside to greet his manager post-match, yet in recent weeks the victory hugs have been replaced by sympathetic looks and words of comfort.

On Saturday, order was restored, a fixture where the performance was, on the whole, redundant. Mousinho was desperate for a win - and he got one.

It was a year to the day since Hughes sat alongside the former Oxford man for his Fratton Park unveiling and was challenged to explain the reasoning behind a left-field appointment which initially failed to unite an increasingly fragmented fanbase.

With Mousinho tasked with transforming a team languishing in 15th and closer to the relegation zone than the League One play-offs, 12 months later he team occupy top spot following a remarkable turnaround of fortunes.

The customary Christmas implosion accompanied by ongoing injury woes have threatened to destroy excellent progress under a man once derided as a 'cheap option' and sneeringly labelled 'a rookie'. How he needed three points at the bottom club.

For the first time in 58 matches in charge, he even opted to line-up with a back three, measures rendered necessary through the absence of a fit recognised right-back and the need to freshen up a wilting team.

Granted, the triumph was slender, albeit Abu Kamara's classy 25th-minute finish being worthy of winning any match, while the second half was a little fraught as the Blues, in the absence of the injured Joe Morrell, lost their control of the game.

Certainly a Fleetwood side now without victory in their last 13 matches can rightly be encouraged over their performance in the 1-0 defeat as the league leaders toiled at times on a deteriorating playing surface.

There was a reassuring swagger about the Blues in their dominant opening 45 minutes, while they were forced to scrap and dig in during a ragged second period. Nonetheless, they had their win which, in all truth, is what truly mattered from the Highbury Stadium trip.

Of course the outcome could have been more comprehensive, undoubtedly more guile and quality should have been on display befitting long-time League One leaders with aspirations of impacting the Championship next season.

Yet following five points from the previous 18 on offer and plummeting player performance levels, a spark was essential to reignite a season which has promised much. Pompey needed to beat the Cod Army by any means necessary.

How they accomplished that is irrelevant. This is no perfect world, there is no entitlement in football, in the real world teams aren't going to blow away opposition in every, single fixture, irrespective of such demands. Saturday was simply mission accomplished.

Undoubtedly we are witnessing the toughest period in Mousinho's time with the Blues. It's comfortably his biggest test having - up to and including Shrewsbury - breezed through his maiden managerial job.

Clearly he hasn't suffered the same teething troubles inflicted upon predecessors Michael Appleton, Guy Whittingham, Steve Cotterill, Andy Awford, Paul Hart, Tony Adams and Avram Grant in their early Fratton Park days.

Nonetheless, there remains plenty to admire about how the 37-year-old has overseen his opening year with Pompey, retaining composure and an even-tempered nature through this current sticky period.

He even demonstrated a Plan B against Fleetwood, employing Conor Shaughnessy, Sean Raggett and Ryley Towler as his three centre-halves, with Terry Devlin and Paddy Lane operating as wing-backs.

Among the three changes, Towler and the recalled Tom Lowery were handed first league starts since facing Bristol Rovers on the opening day of the season as the head coach dug deep into his playing reserves.

Regardless of the lack of right-back options driving his decision, it still represented a bold - and highly necessary - decision from Mousinho and one which should be applauded for succeeding. Had it failed, of course, he would have been criticised.

Following that impressive televised dismantling of Bolton, few would have anticipated the subsequent rapid unravelling, although everybody is right with hindsight.

So here we are, overall it's now two wins and six goals in seven league matches, a statistic which clearly still concerns and, with Derby's game in hand at Reading on Tuesday, Pompey could very soon lose their top spot.

However, the Blues urgently needed a lift on Saturday - and Mousinho needed his hug. Thankfully, both were delivered.