Portsmouth men nominated for awards as Bolton boss makes 'deserved' claim after Barnsley drama

Portsmouth secured a big promotion boost and without playing on Tuesday night, with Bolton salvaging a late draw but failing to make up more than a point on Pompey in their game in hand. John Mousinho's men are five points ahead of Bolton and six ahead of Derby County with no games in hand at play.

Pompey are now preparing for a clash with Blackpool away from home this weekend, hoping to continue their dominance at the top. In the meantime, we have rounded up all the latest news surrounding Portsmouth and their rivals.

Pompey men nominated

Two Portsmouth men are up for awards after an impressive February. Pompey boss Mousinho is up for League One manager of the month, going against Barnsley's Neill Collins, Lincoln's Michael Skubala and Leyton Orient's Richie Wellens.

Elsewhere, Paddy Lane has been nominated for League One player of the month, going up against Lincoln's Reeco Hackett, Northampton's Marc Leonard and Barnsley's Adam Phillips for the award. The winners will be announced on Friday, and the awards are decided by a panel including former Barnsley boss Danny Wilson, Sky Sports’ EFL expert Don Goodman, EFL chief executive Trevor Birch and Sky Bet EFL trader Ivor Davies.

Evatt on late leveller

Bolton boss Ian Evatt is pleased with his side's stoppage time leveller at Oakwell, with the draw taking them second. He said: “These boys have unbelievable character and unbelievable strength of togetherness. They are a really talented bunch and I don't think even they believe how good they are. We need to get them believing because when they play like that, they batter teams into submission. When they get it right, we are a tough team to stop.

“There aren't many teams that can come second half and dominate Barnsley like that. It's the least we deserved, but a little bit of me is frustrated that we didn't win the game. I don't think anyone would have argued with that either."