Pompey's 100% winning record at Fratton Park continued after a comfortable 2-0 win over Northampton Town tonight.
Andy Awford raised a few eyebrows with his team selection by dropping Jack Whatmough, Danny Hollands and Miles Storey and switched the formation to the 3-5-2 wing back system but it worked thanks to the replacement players making an impact and the whole team giving maximum effort.
The match took a while to get going with both sides struggling for momentum in the first 20 minutes but Northampton had their first and arguably best chance when Ricky Ravenhill headed Evan Horwood's cross wide.
After that Pompey stepped up a gear and took the lead after a succession of passes led to Chorley playing the ball to Nicky Shorey on the wing who did excellently to fend off the challenge of ex-Pompey loanee Daniel Alfei before feeding the ball to Jed Wallace who smashed the ball past Matt Duke after 26 minutes.
Awford's men were dominant after that with Ricky Holmes forcing a save from Duke and Craig Westcarr having his effort cleared off the line following an excellent through-ball by James Dunne.
It didn't take long for the second goal to arrive, though, as Westcarr ran through the Cobblers defence again after receiving a through-ball from Nigel Atangana and then leathered the ball past the helpless Duke after 39 minutes.
The second half was all about keeping the ball and doing a professional job to keep Northampton out and the Blues did just that as the visitors barely threatened during the entire second half.
Pompey didn't create much themselves until late in the game until substitute Storey put Atangana through on goal but he curled his shot onto the post. The Swindon loanee then beat Duke to the ball at close range but could only head wide of the goal.
It didn't matter, though, as Pompey saw out the remaining minutes without too much trouble and earned another valuable three points as Awford proved any doubters wrong about his team selection and the strength of his squad.
There were no bad performers today as everyone pulled their weight. The defence showed a unity and an understanding as a back three, the midfield gave them extra protection but also supported the attack well.
The ethic Awford has installed in his team is fantastic and is good to watch. It's difficult to single out a player for the "man of the match" award but Shorey did an excellent job as a wing back despite his ageing legs whilst Atangana was everywhere.
Everyone deserves credit and it feels great to support a winning team again. It's difficult not to get carried away but with Oxford up next who look hapless under Michael Appleton there's a good chance that Pompey can continue to build on this good start.
Pompey Player Ratings
Paul Jones: 6 - Little to do but marshalled his defence well.
Paul Robinson: 8 - Understated performance and loan should be extended.
Joe Devera: 7 - Rock solid for the most part.
Ben Chorley: 7 - Passing was poor at times, good at others but defended well.
Ricky Holmes: 6 - Did OK as a wing back but was restricted going forward.
Nicky Shorey: 8 - Disciplined performance and never gave up.
James Dunne: 7 - Fast becoming a fan favourite for his tenacity.
Nigel Atangana: 8 - A fantastic all-round performance let down slightly by a poor touch on occasion, but that's being picky.
Jed Wallace: 8 - Well taken goal and the driving force in midfield.
Ryan Taylor: 6 - Worked hard but not as influential as on Saturday.
Craig Westcarr: 8 - Debunked his "lazy" tag by working hard and scored a good goal.
Substitutes
Peter Brezovan
Jack Whatmough
Dan Butler (Taylor 90): N/A - A change to eat the time.
Nick Awford
Andy Barcham
Danny Hollands (Holmes 72): N/A - Kept things ticking.
Miles Storey (Westcarr 77): N/A - Almost had an instant impact.