Pompey take on Morecambe under the Fratton Park lights tomorrow knowing that they must build on their most important result of the season.
Team News
Paul Cook will be expected to name an unchanged lineup from the team that beat Carlisle on Saturday.
Shrimps captain Peter Murphy returns to the side having completed his three-match ban but midfielder Alex Kenyon is out.
The Match
Saturday's 3-0 victory over Carlisle made a real statement of intent as far as Portsmouth's automatic promotion ambitions are concerned, but big results such as last weekend's in the past have been followed by dismal performances which have undone the previous good work.
Earlier in the season, Pompey convincingly beat Luton 3-1 at Kenilworth Road only to implode in their next game against Stevenage and lose 2-1. Then there was last season's supposed season-defining victory at Accrington Stanley which was promptly followed by a 3-0 reverse at home to Newport.
History cannot be allowed to repeat itself but Morecambe are the kind of team to throw a spanner in the works and come into tomorrow's game having not lost away from home since the end of December. Tomorrow's game won't be as easy as some people think, that's for sure.
Still, Pompey are in good form and the defence in particular are playing their part having only conceded one goal in their last four games. On the attacking front, Saturday's match swung in the visitors' favour once Cook switched to a 3-5-2 formation and you'd wonder if he'd be tempted to start with that system tomorrow and have a go at Morecambe from the beginning.
Tomorrow's match may be a banana skin but there are still no excuses for not winning it. Pompey could end the night in third place if they win and Carlisle lose at Cheltenham and what a turnaround that would be when many fans believed the automatic promotion charge was over after defeat at Wycombe.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: David FORDE
RB: Gareth EVANS
CB: Christian BURGESS
CB: Matt CLARKE
LB: Enda STEVENS
DM: Michael DOYLE
DM: Amine LINGANZI
RM: Carl BAKER
AM: Gary ROBERTS
LM: Kyle BENNETT
CF: Eoin DOYLE
Morecambe
GK: Barry ROCHE
RB: Liam WAKEFIELD
CB: Ryan EDWARDS
CB: Alex WHITMORE
LB: Aaron McGOWAN
RM: Michael ROSE
CM: Peter MURPHY
CM: Andrew FLEMING
LM: Antony EVANS
CF: Lee MOLYNEUX
CF: Kevin ELLISON
Last Time: Portsmouth 3 Morecambe 3 (League Two - 22/08/2015)
Pompey fans were stunned as the Shrimps raced into a three goal lead at Fratton Park. Tom Barkhuizen opened the scoring and Alan Goodall headed in a corner before Andrew Fleming made it three.
Gary Roberts scored a free kick right before the break and the comeback was on when he scored a second. However, those hopes looked to have faded when Enda Stevens was sent off for a second bookable offence but Pompey completed the comeback when Jayden Stockley headed in Adam Webster's cross at the death.
My Prediction
My belief is that this Portsmouth side has grown in confidence in recent weeks and with such a solid foundation at the back, they can build on that and show the character required to go on a promotion winning run now.
Portsmouth 2 Morecambe 0