Pompey came from behind to defeat promotion chasing Middlesbrough at Fratton Park on Saturday.
Emmanuel Latte Lath opened the scoring for the visitors but Matt Ritchie scored his first and second goal in a Pompey shirt on what was hailed as a 'fairytale' afternoon for the winger. The win unfortunately didn't propel them out of the relegation zone but it did extend their unbeaten run at home six games.
It was the perfect response to losing 3-0 to Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night. Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, manager John Mousinho hailed it as one of the best wins of the season.
‘I think it's one of our best wins of the season, with all the circumstances and the fact I think Middlesbrough are one of the best sides in the league,” said Mousinho.
‘We've watched them tear sides apart.
‘Going 1-0 down and dealing with the hammer blow of Wednesday night to pick ourselves up and put in that level of performance was superb.
‘I thought it was a really good game of football and one that, on balance, we deserved to win.’
The man in the away dugout Michael Carrick meanwhile, believed that Middlesbrough let the game get away from them again. They like Pompey had five shots on target but failed to take their chances whilst they were on top.
'We let the game get away from us again," said Boro boss Carrick to BBC Radio Tees.
'It's something we've let happen far too often recently.
'Coming here, how they play and how they make the game feel, I thought we dealt with it first half and the start of the second half, we had chances to go 2-0 up which we didn't take and the game's always on a knife edge.
'We spoke about concentration and how the game can flip in one moment, and their first goal had a massive effect on things.
'So we're hurting about coming away with nothing after the position we put ourselves in.'
Elsewhere in the Championship, Cardiff City claimed the bragging rights in the South Wales Derby as they swept aside Swansea City, beating them 3-0. Hull City were victorious in the capital, beating Millwall.
Plymouth Argyle lost 1-0 to QPR with newly appointed boss Miron Muslic still on the search for his first win. Luton Town were held to a goalless draw by Preston North End, and so that's the make up of the bottom three teams in the division.
Pompey are level on points with Luton Town and ahead of them on goal difference, but five points clear of Plymouth with a game in hand. Wednesday’s match with Stoke City is huge as a win could see them jump out of the relegation zone and overtake the Potters who drew 1-1 with West Brom.
Following the comeback win on Saturday, The News takes a look at the latest bookmakers’ relegation odds and see who have been named as the favourites to go down based on the latest round of results.
