'It’s a hard place to come, you have to be here to know how difficult it is': Portsmouth boss' relief after avoiding becoming an FA Cup upset at the hands of Hereford

The Blues found themselves behind in the 25th minute against non-league Hereford after Miles Storey pounced on a ponderous Reeco Hackett to sprint away and score.

It threw up the possibility of a cup shock on the evening the Bulls faithful paid tribute to the late Ronnie Radford.

However, Hackett equalised seven minutes later and, in a dominant second half, Colby Bishop and substitute Joe Pigott clinched a 3-1 win.

Perhaps the scoreline doesn’t quite tell the full story, yet the Blues have qualified for the second round of this year’s competition.

Cowley told The News: ‘Credit to Hereford, their players were an absolute credit to their club.

‘Josh Gowling and his staff should be really proud because they played with such intensity, aggression and purpose in the first half – and it was really tough for us.

‘We conceded a really bad goal, but credit to Reeco because he showed guts and character, he kept wanting the ball, and we were able to find the equaliser.

‘In the second half we regrouped, made a few tweaks and were much better. I thought it was a good performance in the second half and we came out worthy winners in the end.

‘We knew it was going to be a really tough evening, it’s a hard place to come, you have to be here to know how difficult it is.

‘The atmosphere was so raw, they are on top of you, their team really responded to the atmosphere, the floodlights are low, it’s really dark, it’s difficult to pick up the ball, not easy at all.

‘Although we responded well to the goal, I was disappointed in the first half with our intensity, aggression and purpose, both in and out of possession. We didn’t play with any speed, our technical detail was poor, we weren’t able to find a rhythm.

‘The hardest thing to do as a footballer if you haven’t played so well in the first half is to get your performance together and play well in the second half.

‘Credit to the players because they were able to do that – and it ended up being a good performance.’

The victory also marked Tom Lowery’s comeback, emerging from the bench in the second half.

As for Bishop, it took his Pompey goal tally into double figures after joining the club in the summer.

While Cowley felt important lessons were learnt by other members of his squad.

He added: ‘Everyone thinks it’s always technical and tactical, sometimes it’s mental, sometimes it’s mindset.

‘Our young players – Zak Swanson and Jay Mingi – will never have lived this before, especially Zak. They will be better for that experience.

‘Zak came through in the end after a difficult first half and I thought the subs came on and had a real impact on the game.’