Pompey produced a second half comeback to thrash ten man Birmingham City 4-1 at Fratton Park to ignite thoughts of another "great escape" from relegation.
The game could not have started any worse for the home side as some sluggish defending gave Nikola Zigic far too much space to pick his spot and strike the ball into the bottom corner of the net after just eight minutes.
It was all too easy for the visitors as they passed the ball around the pitch without a problem whilst any Pompey attack was quickly ended by a poor pass or the offside flag.
However, Appleton's men did eventually show signs of getting their act together as Luke Varney beat his man down the line and squared a ball across goal that Chris Maguire barely missed as the far post.
The Scot then managed to get Pompey's first shot on target as his drive had to be turned around the post by Boaz Myhill. The score remained 1-0 at the break but there was something to build on.
And the players certainly did that when the second half began!
Curtis Davies brought down Varney on the wing and he took a short free kick to Maguire who blasted the ball into the corner of the net via a deflection, not that we cared about that as Pompey had finally scored a goal from open play!
The big turning point came when David Murphy was shown a second yellow card for barging over Maguire. That foul led to the second goal as Norris received the ball (with a hint of his hand) and cooly struck the ball into the corner of the net to complete the turnaround.
Chris Hughton's ten men might have found an equaliser but Jamie Ashdown did well to keep out Marlon King's effort. 'Appy then decided to bring Kelvin Etuhu back into the side for Scott Allan and what a decision that was.
The Nigerian might have got on the scoresheet immediately if his first touch had been better but it didn't matter as a few minutes later he was sent through on goal by Maguire and produced a sensational strike to give Myhill no chance of saving it.
By then the Birmingham defence had fallen apart and Pompey were attacking relentlessly with the 12,000 fans at Fratton Park creating a joyous atmosphere not heard at the ground for quite some time.
Marko Futacs added a fourth in stoppage time when Greg Halford did well to beat his man and provide a good cross for the Hungarian to tap in and round off Pompey's best result at home this season.
It's funny what a difference 45 minutes in a season can make, isn't it? At half-time we were dead and buried, but managing to score four goals having managed just one in the previous seven games has seen the belief return.
Yes, there was a bit of luck involved but we surely deserve some after some of the awful decisions Pompey have had given against them in recent times. It might be that bit of luck that sparks another escape from the drop.
The Coventry game on Saturday is massive now because should the Sky Blues fail to win at Cardiff tomorrow, then Pompey could leap them in the table if they are victorious at the Ricoh Arena.
Any other result simply won't be enough but it just felt great to celebrate a win for once and it was nice to see fans leaving Fratton with a smile on their faces.
Let's just hope no more players leave before Thursday's loan window deadline so Pompey can have a fighting chance of Championship survival.
Pompey Player Ratings
Jamie Ashdown: 6 - Made one really smart save from King.
Greg Halford: 8 - Arguably his best performance in a Pompey shirt. Strong at the back and got forward well.
Ricardo Rocha: 6 - Solid after slow start.
Jason Pearce: 7 - Always there to intervene.
Tal Ben-Haim: 7 - Played very well when his passes went to his intended target.
Scott Allan: 6 - Buzzed around.
David Norris: 8 - Central to everything Pompey did well.
George Thorne: 7 - Held things together.
Joel Ward: 6 - Didn't stand out.
Chris Maguire: 8 - At the heart of Pompey's best attacks.
Luke Varney: 6 - Pace caused a few problems.
Substitutes
Adam Webster
Ashley Harris (Norris 90): N/A - Nice to see the young lad come on and beat an experienced player in the box.
Kelvin Etuhu (Allan 74): 7 - Wasn't on for long but made a huge impact when he arrived.
Benjani
Marko Futacs (Maguire 89): N/A - Goal should boost confidence.