‘Hang it in the Louvre’: Football celebrates Portsmouth ‘Terminator’ as ex-Manchester United, Millwall, Ipswich Town and Luton Town man’s resurrection continues

And with Pompey’s season seemingly drifting towards mediocrity, it’s the kind of incident to be seized upon and cherished.

Not only that, but it’s another signifier of Ryan Tunnicliffe’s Fratton resurrection as the midfielder re-establishes himself under John Mousinho.

There may not have been any goal action at Lincoln on Saturday, with Colby Bishop’s glaring miss a key incident.

But it was Tunnicliffe’s crunching second-half tackle which emerged as one of the afternoon’s talking points, as he nailed Imps sub Daniel Mandroiu in firm-but-fair fashion after the restart.

The moment was caught on camera from a number of different angles and has since been widely circulated on social media.

The footage shows the ball dropping to Mandroiu from a Pompey corner in the 48th minute, and the Irishman advancing towards the touchline.

Tunnicliffe is wasting no time, however, as he steams in at full throttle and takes the ball cleanly before taking Mandriou out.

The Lincoln player is left writhing on the turf, as the former Manchester United trainee leaves the scene without a fuss and recovers the position.

The assistant referee then correctly signals for a throw, as Pompey fans salute their player.

Pompey’s title-winning captain Michael Doyle, a man who is no stranger to a tackle, was providing co-commentary on iFollow and offers his appreciation for the challenge.

‘A heavy challenge from Tunnicliffe - and a great challenge,’ Doyle chuckled.

‘That’s what you want to see. It gets the crowd going and it’s right in front of the Portsmouth fans.

‘It gives the fans a bit of a lift. You have to win it there, if you don’t you’re in trouble.

‘But he’s taken everything - the ball and the man.’

Twitter account, Fans Bet, were quick to add their appreciation as the footage circulated on social media.

They said: ‘If you watch any football highlights this weekend, please let it be this Ryan Tunnicliffe challenge. Hang it in the Louvre… absolute perfection!’

Pompey fans were also keen to lap up the moment, as appreciation of Tunnicliffe grows.

‘A thing of beauty, proper crunching tackle,’ said @StueyW1986, while @WhitmarshSteve added: ‘Here comes the Terminator.’

@Paultb7Blake appreciated the quality of the tackle as he said: ‘Leave ‘em rolling about !! Great tackle clean as.’

Meanwhile, IDoWhatILike8 branded the tackle ‘a work of art’ and @tazthebaffled added: ‘Playing himself into a new contract, he's been class since the Cowleys left.’