Kenny Jackett applauds Portsmouth winning response over Ipswich after Accrington debacle

Ronan Curtis’ 50th-minute strike from long-range earned the Blues a thoroughly-deserved 1-0 win at a rain-drenched Fratton Park this afternoon.

Heading into the match in second place in League One, Ipswich were dominated throughout by the impressive hosts.

It was a startling contrast to the 4-1 defeat at Accrington last weekend, Pompey’s largest loss in the league for almost six years.

And Jackett was delighted with his team’s performance.

The Blues boss said: ‘We played very well, I thought it was an excellent game between two good teams.

‘Probably Ipswich’s strongest spell was after we scored, funnily enough, but it’s good to see us come through it, weather the storm and finish strongly.

‘I did feel in terms of the display it was a good one, we brought our crowd into play and they had a sizeable contingent from Ipswich which we kept pretty quiet, which does show the level of performance.

‘Ipswich changed it around a few times, which they do, but through the triangle of James Bolton, Ben Close and Andy Cannon it gave us a foothold and our defenders will gain confidence from a clean sheet, we haven’t had enough.

‘Last week we were too open, we went up to Accrington and tried to play an open game and blow them away, yet didn't work that way. It was 1-1 at half-time and we went for it second half and they capitalised.

‘We needed to adjust today because otherwise you can lose confidence pretty quickly in terms of a run if you cannot get solid and compact.

‘We did that – and it produced a match-winning performance.’