'Pompey could be safe with time to spare'

Albeit not beyond mathematical doubt, with the 50-point mark smashed through on Saturday, three wins in a row in the space of seven days and now five games unbeaten, you'd be forgiven for considering Portsmouth a Championship side for at least another season.

Pompey's nine-point week couldn't have come at a better time.

An explosion of form from absolutely nowhere means that all of a sudden, beating last season's 54-point tally appears plausible. That would've felt absurd just a few weeks ago.

Inside 15 minutes, with both Keshi Anderson and Terry Devlin withdrawn through injury in the 1-0 win over Leicester, two ideal candidates to grab the game by the scruff of the neck were no longer available.

This, twinned with a bitty and stop-start affair, paved the way for a "one moment that wins it" match. And up stepped Ibane Bowat.

Both Regan Poole and Nico Schmid contributed two match-defining blocks, and while Pompey's performance didn't have the splendour of last Tuesday night against Ipswich, both results count for the same number of points - and register equally as significant in terms of survival for John Mousinho's side.

The pressure abates somewhat for Pompey fans, with the expectant champions in waiting, Coventry City, next up. That game would've had an entirely different complexion if Saturday hadn't gone our way.

With hindsight, the international break following the QPR game may well have saved Pompey's season.

A point or two and we could now be over the line with a handful of games to spare.

Find more from Tom at the Fournilwrittenalloverit, external YouTube channel