James Bolton hails Portsmouth grit after breaking 'crazy' two-year millstone against Ipswich - in Danny Cowley's first game

The Blues responded to falling behind to James Norwood’s first-half opener by securing a 2-1 triumph over Ipswich.

It marked an instant winning return for newly-appointed head coach Danny Cowley, who was unveiled the previous day.

Tom Naylor and Marcus Harness grabbed the goals to mark the first time since April 2019 against Coventry that the Blues have won in League One having conceded first.

It was a shocking statistic a stunned Bolton was unaware of.

Now they have reinvigorated their play-off bid – and under their new boss.

Bolton told The News: ‘That’s a crazy stat, but we showed a bit of spirit today, that’s what everyone’s pleased about.

‘It wasn’t a great performance but we showed a lot of grit, a lot of character and that will stand us in good stead.

‘To be honest, I think we showed a bit of that on Tuesday (at Peterborough). We were unfortunate, we went there with a bit of a game plan and the same today.

‘For me, in this league we have got to do the basics – and the basics are working hard and having that grit and fighting for each other.

‘That takes you a long way and we are happy that has been the case today.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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