Pompey fans remembered how it felt to support a winning team after witnessing a hard fought 1-0 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge at Fratton Park.
Romain Padovani returned to the starting line-up after months in the wilderness and scored the only goal of the game having been the best player on the pitch today.
The Frenchman had the first clear chance of the game when Patrick Agyemang cut the ball back for him following a fine move but his effort was blocked by Luke Howell.
Agyemang could have been on the scoresheet himself soon after if his touch wasn't so heavy after Ricky Holmes played him through for a one-on-one with goalkeeper Chris Lewington.
The hosts had a few other chances with Jed Wallace firing over from distance, Holmes having his curled effort palmed away by Lewington and Sonny Bradley heading a free kick straight at the Daggers keeper.
The breakthrough did come right before half-time as Padovani somehow headed in Holmes' corner with plenty of Dagenham men in the box to clear it. It was a soft goal to score but Pompey fans didn't care given the circumstances.
The second half was a much more scrappy affair than the first after Agyemang's goal had been chalked off as he was clearly offside.
The visitors' best chance came when the Pompey defence failed to clear a free kick and an unmarked Chris Dickson "Quashie'ed" the ball over the bar when he should have at least hit the target.
That was the only real sour moment of the match in terms of what was happening on the pitch. Unfortunately, some idiots who call themselves Portsmouth fans booed Johnny Ertl as he came on and then ironically cheered every time he won the ball or made a tackle.
That is simply stupid behaviour. It would be understandable to boo if a player isn't pulling their weight or making costly mistakes but to start jeering a man who hasn't even entered the field of play is ridiculous and the fools who did it should go and consult a dictionary and look up the definition of the word "support" before returning to Fratton Park on Sunday.
The rest of the home supporters held their breath late on as referee Graham Salisbury, who had been inconsistent all match, blew his whistle when Lawson D'Ath went down in the box. Thankfully, the man in charge saw through his dive and the Dagenham man received a yellow card for his simulation.
The match ended with Pompey defending deeper and deeper and the Portsmouth fans were worried that the "inevitable" goal would arrive. Thankfully, Dagenham were one of the poorer sides to come to Portsmouth this season and never made their extra possession count.
In fact, the scoreline would have doubled had Padovani's audacious attempt from 30 yards had sailed just under the crossbar rather than over it. It didn't matter, the run of nine games without a win was finally over as Pompey supporters celebrated a first win since Boxing Day 2006, with a clean sheet the icing on the cake.
Richie Barker's words from his post-match interview after the Bristol Rovers performance must have hit home because the showing today was so much better in terms of effort.
Therry Racon and Simon Ferry did an excellent job as the holding midfielders, winning the ball back for Pompey constantly and letting Padovani get on with creating moves going forward or distributing the ball to the wingers.
It wasn't a spectacle by any means but hard work goes a long way in League Two and hopefully this well earned win can provide some building blocks for Richie Barker's reign as Portsmouth manager.
Roll on Sunday.
Pompey Player Ratings
Trevor Carson: 6 - Virtually a spectator for much of the match.
Danny East: 7 - Excellent return to the side. Zavon Hines got little change out of him.
Sonny Bradley: 6 - Solid and won most headers.
Joe Devera: 5 - Still unconvincing at times but an improvement on recent showings.
Marcos Painter: 7 - Did well until his injury.
Simon Ferry: 7 - Really got stuck in.
Therry Racon: 7 - A quality player when he works hard.
Romain Padovani: 8 - Added some much needed quality to the side and got stuck in too.
Jed Wallace: 6 - Ran a lot even if he wasn't at his best.
Ricky Holmes: 7 - Another decent showing.
Patrick Agyemang: 6 - Put a shift in but seemed to be weaker than usual.
Substitutes
John Sullivan
Yassin Moutaouakil
Jack Whatmough (Painter 70): N/A - Slotted in seamlessly.
Johnny Ertl (Ferry 60): 6 - Booing was uncalled for as he did his job without making mistakes.
Ashley Harris
David Connolly
Ryan Bird (Agyemang 90): N/A - Time eating switch.