Portsmouth 2 Port Vale 0: Neil Allen's verdict - Top of the league twice in a day and worrying about rivals. Welcome to a promotion challenge

Facing Bristol Rovers in Saturday’s early kick-off, there were as many red cards as goals, nonetheless the U’s ran out 2-1 winners.

The head coach opted not to relay news of Pompey being nudged off League One’s summit as a consequence, intent on not distracting his side ahead of kick-off against Port Vale.

He harboured suspicions, of course, a gut feeling that some inside the dressing room were fully informed, sneaking a peak at mobile phones when out-of-bounds.

How times have changed at Fratton Park. It's October and the Blues are nervously looking over their shoulders at the chasing pack, desperate to preserve their dominance.

It's called a promotion challenge. Cheering goals, toasting victories, while fretting over how rivals are faring – how we’ve missed such days.

After three seasons of failing to finish higher than eighth, at last Pompey are embroiled in a battle to reach the Championship. Even better, they’re presently setting the pace for the automatic spots rather than following a play-off contingency plan.

Certainly there has been enough compelling evidence this early in the campaign to suggest this will become a regular routine over the remaining 34 league fixtures.

Last term there was a brief one-game residency at the top of the table following a 1-0 win at Vale Park in August 2022. Danny Cowley’s side even hung around the top two until defeat at Ipswich three weeks later.

Then that was it, a steady decline in the table underpinned by one victory in 12 league games until the head coach was replaced by Mousinho.

Yet this time it feels different, the Blues continue to discover ways to eke out wins and on Saturday, hours after Oxford’s daring coup, they reclaimed top spot courtesy of a 2-0 triumph over Port Vale.

That’s now 28 points from the opening 12 matches, considerably more than the fabled two-point-a-game average feted as the barometer to secure promotion.

What’s more, a fifth successive victory was achieved without Marlon Pack, Regan Poole, Alex Robertson and Connor Ogilvie, mainstays of this new-look team which is threatening to break from the monotonous norm.

Unquestionably Pompey weren't at their strongest against the Valiants, neither were they at their best, all the more reason to be impressed by the positive Fratton Park outcome.

With Sean Raggett and Ben Stevenson handed their first league starts of the season and Christian Saydee recalled in a reshuffled starting XI, the Blues’ first-half showing was deeply unimpressive.

Indeed, Funso Ojo struck the left-hand post after five minutes, while James Plant should have scored amid a strong opening 45 minutes from the bright visitors.

In contrast, Mousinho men possessed no tempo to their play, moving the ball too slowly, and frittering away far too much time passing between defenders in their own half of the pitch.

Without Poole’s drive with the ball and Pack’s willingness to drop deeper to collect from defenders and launch advancement up the field, the pedestrian hosts lacked the bravery to explore further.

Pompey were grateful to enter the interval with the scoreline still goalless, while Mousinho later acknowledged the ‘worst’ opening 45 minutes for quite some time.

Yet this side have something about them and returned after the interval transformed, along with a couple of ‘tactical tweaks’ according to the head coach.

Within 13 minutes of the second half’s restart it was 2-0, with the superb Colby Bishop bagging a quick-fire double to take his season’s tally up to eight.

The first was instigated by another excellent cross from Jack Sparkes, met with a right-footed half-volley by Joe Rafferty which was goalwards, only for Bishop to divert it into the net from close range.

Just five minutes later, Abu Kamara’s shot was blocked by the arm of the grounded Kofi Balmer and Bishop clinically finished the penalty.

The clock read 58 minutes, yet the match was effectively over, with Raggett subsequently twice going close with headers as the hosts sauntered to three points.

Undefeated for 23 league games and top of League One, there is every reason to assume this promotion challenge is genuine and here for the long-term, not a brief giddy acquaintance.

Incidentally, Oxford next entertain Blackpool on October 21. But then some already know that.