It was a scrappy game that we deserved win due to the passion and commitment the Pompey players showed despite the little quality in the match itself.
Peter Crouch volleyed straight at Shay Given whilst David Nugent squandered a couple of good chances in the first half whilst all City had to show for their "effort" was a long range shot from Elano.
The second half was much of the same story as Pompey continued to dominate possession but couldn't find a way through until Glen Johnson's excellent run bamboozled the City defence.
England's number two danced his way into the box but had his shot saved initially by Given until he collected the rebound and found space to lash in the opener.
And that lead was soon doubled after Hermann Hreidarsson produced a bullet header into the top corner of the net to send the home crowd bonkers. It could have been more too if Nugent had finished his one-on-one rather than place his shot wide whilst the ball was also cleared off the line late on.
City's only effort in the second half came from Ched Evans' header that forced David James into a wondersave to preserve his clean sheet on his record-breaking appearance in the Premier League.
As much improved as our performance was I can't help but highlight just how poor Man City were. I can't understand how a team that beat us 6-0 earlier in the season can come to a team who haven't won in nine and haven't kept a clean sheet yet play as badly as they did.
That's not to discredit our performance though. Every player showed a determination and fight and as a team had a solidity that was missing under Adams. Brian Kidd looks to have already influenced this team but I'm still not sure that giving the job to Hart permanently is the right answer.
With Peter Storrie getting arrested again (and released on bail until June) we were in desperate need of some good news and we got that today with the result. We've got a massive game at Stoke next week and I feel we'll have to up our game further if we're to win that one and climb further up the table.
For now we should enjoy the win and any Pompey fans that have partners tonight should be in for an extra good time whilst those of us singletons won't have had a bad Valentines Day either for a change!
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 7 - Nothing much to do bar one super save at the end.
Glen Johnson: 8 - Simply excellent all-round performance.
Sol Campbell: 6 - Made one glaring error but made up for it by winning the ball back.
Sylvain Distin: 6 - Much improved from recent weeks.
Hermann Hreidarsson: 8 - Rock solid at the back and great header for the goal.
Jermaine Pennant: 7 - Good on the ball and delievered some decent crosses.
Sean Davis: 7 - Battled for everything.
Angelos Basinas: 7 - Has settled in very well.
Niko Kranjcar: 7 - Showed glimpses of why he is looking for a move in the summer.
David Nugent: 6 - Ran his heart out but spurned a few good chances.
Peter Crouch: 6 - Worked hard but needs a goal.
Substitutes
Asmir Begovic
Noe Pamarot
Nadir Belhadj (Pennant 86): N/A - Late change.
John Utaka
Hayden Mullins (Basinas 67): 6 - Did his job.
Theofanis Gekas
Kanu