Yeovil 1 Pompey 2

Gabor Gyepes barely trains at present and has injections to nurse his ankle through the rigours of football.

A hulking scrapper with a never-say-die attitude – and how Pompey were indebted to his indomitable spirit last night.

A poor Yeovil side had hauled themselves level through Reuben Reid’s penalty to leave those 1,297 travelling Blues fans shocked.

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Stunned that their side, for all their dominance, were facing just a point in a match they had led for so long.

So enter the gutsy Gyepes, the new-found goal hero who, for the second match running, dug his team out of trouble.

With 78 minutes on the clock, there appeared no danger when the Hungarian set off in pursuit of the ball as it travelled away from goal after Brian Howard’s corner had been cleared.

But with the grace of any self-respecting striker, he retrieved the ball, spun round, and fired in a low shot from outside the penalty area.

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It arrowed through a ruck of players to enter the net – a moment which would prove decisive.

In all the excitement, the Tannoy announcement proclaimed the scorer as Johnny Ertl, a feat also matched by the BBC’s website.

But it was that man Gyepes once again who was the real hero and a goalscorer for the second successive match.

To think, it was his fourth goal in his previous nine competitive matches spread over the past three seasons.

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In truth, Pompey’s victory should never have hinged on him, particularly following a rampant first-half display.

Izale McLeod had a shot pushed against the post in the 12th minute before netting seconds later, powerfully crashing home Wes Thomas’ assist.

It appeared a matter of when Michael Appleton’s men would add to their tally – only for Reid to equalise in the 69th minute.

Suddenly the fear emerged that Pompey could be held to a draw by a struggling side who came into the game on the back of five successive defeats.

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That was until Gyepes appeared from nowhere to settle matters and give Appleton his second win in a row.

As expected, Ertl was recalled to the Pompey side in place of hamstring-injury victim Darel Russell.

It marked a second start for the versatile Austrian, slotting into the centre of midfield alongside skipper Brian Howard.

That was the only change to the side that defeated Scunthorpe at the weekend, although Appleton did elect to shuffle around his personnel.

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Mustapha Dumbuya was restored to right-back, with Lee Williamson moving over from the left-hand side of midfield to occupy the right flank.

Adam Webster switched from right to left-back, while Jon Harley pushed up into the left-midfield spot.

That meant recent recruit Akos Buzsaky was named on the bench, with the Blues boss concerned over his match fitness at present.

When the game kicked off, it was Yeovil who had the first opportunity.

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In the fourth minute, Keanu Marsh-Brown cut in from the right and fizzed in a shot from outside the box which Mikkel Andersen tipped around the post.

Barely a minute later, Dumbuya’s pace took him through the middle for effectively a three-on-one, with Izale McLeod and Wes Thomas flanking him.

The full-back elected to square to McLeod, whose touch was heavy, allowing Yeovil to intercept and the moment had gone.

McLeod then unleashed a low shot from 25 yards which was comfortably dealt with by the hosts’ keeper Marek Stech.

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Pompey came agonisingly close to taking the lead in the 12th minute through that man McLeod.

The striker fired in a shot which took a crucial deflection and was pushed on to the post by Stech.

The keeper then reacted quickly to gather as Thomas looked to capitalise from close range.

However, the former Barnet man did net in the 13th minute with an excellent finish.

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Thomas did the work, putting him through and the ball sat up nicely for McLeod to powerfully lash home from just inside the penalty area.

That opener seemed to sap all belief out of the hosts and their fans.

And they had a let off when Byron Webster completely missed a through ball but Harley chose to pass rather than shoot.

At the other end, in the 19th minute Dumbuya underhit a pass back intended for his keeper to let in Reid but the Glovers’ striker could only fire straight at Andersen.

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Thomas should have increased the visitors’ lead in the 32nd minute when he held off Richard Hinds’ challenge to wriggle through but he curled his right-foot side wide of the far post.

Pompey had a penalty scare approaching half-time when Thomas tumbled inside the area while chasing Marsh-Brown, bringing the Yeovil man down.

Chris Foy, however, was not interested, much to the anger of the home side who thought they had an excellent case.

After the break the advantage for Pompey continued to remain slender and Harley missed a glorious chance to extend it on the hour mark.

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Ertl did superbly down the right before whipping in a cross which found its way to Harley who dragged a half-volley wide of the far post.

Moments later a magnificent surging run by Adam Webster into the box resulted in him driving a right-foot effort narrowly over the bar.

And in the 69th minute Yeovil were level after Lee Williamson’s sliding tackle took down Nathan Ralph inside the box.

Reid took on the spot-kick duties and confidently slotted the ball to the left of the diving Andersen for the equaliser.

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The Blues went up to the other end and when Howard’s shot was parried by Stech, Thomas saw his follow-up blocked by Dan Burn and the hosts scrambled the ball clear.

Appleton’s men did get their noses back in front, though, in the 78th minute through Gyepes.

Howard’s corner sparked a scramble and, when the ball was nudged outside the penalty area, the towering defender spun and drove a shot into the net through a ruck of players.

It was enough to settle the contest as Pompey made it two wins in a row to climb up the table a little further.

And for Gyepes, the goals from the unlikely source keep on flowing.

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