Pompey bounced back from their recent slump in form with a 3-0 win over ten man Dagenham thanks to goals from James Dunne, Jed Wallace and Andy Barcham.
However, the game could have been so much different had Dagenham taken their chances in the first half with Pompey giving the ball away far too often.
Andy Awford had to contend with more injuries as Nicky Shorey and Ricky Holmes were ruled out which meant a start for Dan Butler at left wing back in a 3-5-2 system with Joe Devera and Patrick Agyemang also coming back into the side.
The first half was a poor quality affair with both teams guilty of some terrible passing. Luke Howell tested Paul Jones with a curling shot from distance and if it wasn't for a couple of poor touches when going forward, they would have scored.
The crowd were getting bored with the match as nothing of note was happening at the other end of the pitch bar a comedy piece of defending that almost resulted in an own goal.
However, that all changed on the 40th minute as some excellent build up play saw Agyemang lay the ball off to Dunne who rifled it past the helpless Mark Cousins to score arguably Pompey's best goal of the season so far.
The Daggers almost restored parity at the end of the half when Ashley Chambers' strike from distance crashed against the crossbar and Jamie Cureton then wasted a glorious chance in the second half by "Quashieing" the ball over the bar when the ball fell to him in the box.
The match then turned in Pompey's favour as Andre Boucaud went in on Agyemang and came off worst in the challenge with the Ghanian springing back to his feet. When the Daggers midfielder finally gained his bearings he was shown a second yellow card for his challenge and was forced to limp off the pitch.
Pompey were then awarded a penalty after Matt Patridge fouled Paul Robinson at the far post from a corner when he looked like getting on the end of it. Wallace stepped up and cooly slotted the ball past Cousins to effectively seal the win on 69 minutes.
Wallace then almost scored his contender for goal of the season as he lashed a volley with the inside of his boot just wide of the target.
Miles Storey soon came on for Agyemang and thought he had scored the third goal by tapping in Craig Westcarr's cross but it was ruled out for offside despite the ball being pulled back for him. The assistant had got that one wrong.
Pompey did have their third goal in stoppage time when substitute Andy "Barkham" began a counter-attack by sending Wallace free down the wing and he then returned the ball to Barcham who had the easy job of finishing from close range.
The scoreline was slightly flattering for Andy Awford's men who did not play well in the first half and had they been playing a better team, surely would have been punished for one of their defensive lapses. The wing back system certainly needs some work if it is to be effective in the more difficult games, that's for sure.
On a positive note, Pompey really did take control once they gained the numerical advantage and began to play some good football. Butler also didn't look out of place in a team whose confidence has hopefully returned after that result.
We shall see if the corner has been turned when Wycombe come to Fratton Park on Saturday.
Pompey Player Ratings
Paul Jones: 7 - A couple of excellent saves.
Joe Devera: 6 - Solid enough.
Jack Whatmough: 6 - Made a few mistakes but also made some important challenges.
Paul Robinson: 6 - Steady even if he lost his man on occasion.
Alex Wynter: 6 - Still not totally convincing but improved from Saturday's showing.
James Dunne: 7 - Cracking goal and did the usual job in midfield effectively.
Danny Hollands: 6 - Still not at his best.
Jed Wallace: 7 - Worked extremely hard after a poor first half.
Dan Butler: 7 - Will give Shorey a run for his money for his first team place.
Craig Westcarr: 6 - Not a major threat but worked well with Agyemang.
Patrick Agyemang: 7 - Daggers defenders struggled to deal with him.
Substitutes
Michael Poke
Adam Webster
Johnny Ertl
Ben Close (Dunne 82): N/A - Got a bit of game time.
Jack Maloney
Andy Barcham (Westcarr 90): N/A - Good goal.
Miles Storey (Agyemang 73): N/A - Injected some extra pace up front.