‘Dominant’: Bristol Rovers boss’ big Portsmouth prediction as he celebrates scalp

Bristol Rovers boss Matt Taylor felt his team were good value for the victory as they ended Pompey’s long unbeaten away run.

But the new Gas manager still expects John Mousinho’s side to be celebrating League One promotion come the end of the campaign.

Taylor ‘s side picked up a stoppage-time 2-1 win at the Memorial Ground to end the Blues’ 16-game undefeated run on the road stretching back to March in the league.

And he felt that success was a fair outcome on the balance of play.

He told Bristol Live: ‘Emotional at the end. I thought the lads got what they deserved. I was so pleased with the effort they put in and the fact that we got more to show from it than what we might have got at the game.

‘Certainly their goal seems to come out of nothing. Maybe a mistake in the middle of the park from ourselves. All of a sudden it's 1-1 but that was two teams going at it and going at it properly.

‘It was a passionate game. Exactly what you want to see on Boxing Day. I just want energy on the pitch. I want their first and last fall to be to run and to put a real competitive display in because we know we've got talent there. I think that's been on show and it gave us a platform in the game.

‘We've played some good teams and it's important to say that I think our in possession and attacking play will improve because at the moment what I'm asking them to do and what we're demanding of them is really taking it out of the legs a bit. That's no excuse but sometimes we still make unforced errors in possession and the ball seems to come back in our control and then we lose it too quickly but I'll take that at the moment in terms of where the team are at.

‘It's a good platform because they'll get more used to how we're asking them to play and the effort they're putting in, then that in possession and attacking play will start to show and, without working the goalkeeper in the first half, I thought we were the more dominant team.

‘Bristol Rovers at home should be a difficult challenge for anyone but yeah, I expect Portsmouth to go and get promoted. I said the same about Bolton. We've beaten them both. Now, I'm not saying we're in the promotion picture by any means because we're too far away as of yet but that's got to be a shot in the arm for this group of players and the fans alike. The key thing now is can we back that up against Charlton?’

Taylor still has his eyes on the play-offs at the season’s halfway point, but knows his side has ground to make up as they currently sit 12 points off the top six.

He added:  ‘It wouldn't have been a travesty if we hadn't won the game but in terms of where I feel this group needs to get to, it's important that we took a big step towards what we felt at Bolton, we didn't feel at Blackpool and we certainly felt today and it was so important that our fans were part of that.

‘We're here to pick up as many points as we can. Let's be honest, we're trying to play catch up with those top teams. Draws won't get us there because the gap is too big so we have to be bullish and bold with our approach and I'm so pleased they got the rewards for that.’