Well that was easy wasn't it? Some say there are no easy games in League Two but I beg to differ. We've had a few this season, if memory serves. Dagenham at home, York at home, Hartlepool at home, Crawley at home - all easy. And you can add Notts County at home to that.

I have a suspicion - it's that most of the opposition teams in this league are about the same, and the only real differential for Pompey is their own up-and-down standards. If they played as well as they can every week (and I realise that's asking a lot) they'd have no trouble getting promotion.

But Pompey have always had trouble putting runs together. For as long as I can remember, they are a team who perform when the pressure is on but don't always perform when the pressure is off.

Today, after five points dropped in back-to-back games against Newport and Mansfield, the pressure was very firmly on, so there was little doubt in my mind which Pompey - let's call it the choice between the 'Accrington Pompey' and the 'Newport Pompey' - would turn up.

The sun was shining, spring had sprung, Pompey needed to win. They did.

It was a heartening afternoon for the 16,000-plus crowd but I wonder how many will have left with the same thoughts as me: Can they do that for two, three, four games in a row? So far this season that is the consistency that's eluded them.

But we can all see how many good players - in defence, midfield and attack - Paul Cook has at his disposal, so once again, for me. the question is not how many problems AFC Wimbledon on Monday and then Carlisle next Saturday will pose us, it's whether we can find these same levels in those two games. Because if we do, we'll win both.

That's all we need to worry about - ourselves, not the opposition. That may sound arrogant to some but I think it's a fair reflection of our place in the League Two pecking order.

Similarly, we need to stop thinking about how many points the other top-three pretenders will get. Cook reckons six wins from the last eight - which would take the Blues to 81 points even if the other two games were lost - could be enough for a top-three finish. History suggests he's right. The other teams will all drop points - it boils down to how many we drop. And that's the only thing we can affect.

So that's win, win, win, lose; win, win, win, lose, or a similar arrangement of results. A lot to ask given that we have not yet won three league games in a row, but not impossible. But of course we must be ready for the possibility that even if we were to win six from the last eight, we might still be consigned to the play-offs.

As Alan Knight pointed out on Express FM after today's game, even when the Blues won 11 out of 12 towards the end of the 1992-93 season, they missed out, thanks to that blow-up at Roker Park. So nothing's certain - least of all Pompey's likely form in the games to come.

Notts County arrived at Fratton with a new manager - often a factor that can carry a team to a few wins. But the Magpies were simply not good enough on the day. They were quite dirty - of three bookings they picked up in the first half, they couldn't have complained if one of them had been red.

And they were helped by officials who stopped play for some silly minor stuff but overlooked much worse - and how the referee could keep giving free-kicks AGAINST the man-handled Michael Smith and not for him is beyond me. He might also have given Ben Davies a penalty three minutes in, but perhaps he thought it was too early for one. Hmmm.

Someone was tweeting me in the first half defending the ref and saying 'What's he actually done wrong?' but Twitter's 140-character limit has not been lifted, so I didn't reply. That same tweeter later gave the ref, who ironically was called Mr Bull, 7.5 out of 10.

Like refs and Pompey's inconsistency, Kyle Bennett is a subject that seems to divide opinion. I have rated him since he arrived and many others have too - Cook has, happily, kept faith with him all season, even when some fans were harshly blaming the winger, seemingly solely, for the Blues' inability to win at home.

I do understand the frustration with Bennett. He does sometimes over-complicate things with the ball at his feet. But he has talent, ability - heaps of it - and pace and over the season, has opened up a hell of a lot of opposition teams. If he had all that and never made a bad decision, he wouldn't be playing for us in League Two.

I'm not sure anyone in the squad has more assists than him, though I am sure one of the anti-Kyle gang will put me right if I am wrong - and against Notts County, he added a couple of cracking goals to his 2015-16 CV.

The first, Pompey's opener a minute or two before half-time, came when he ran on to Enda Stevens' pass down the left wing, beat his man for sheer pace, got to the by-line, cut back in and fired confidently past a keeper who probably should have done better. It was the sort of direct move Bennett has tried countless times this season, and hopefully will continue to try, and it was pleasing to see it come off.

Four minutes into the second half an intricate little triangle of passes just inside the County half led to Gary Roberts setting Bennett clear of the defence. He looked up, waited for the keeper to advance, then planted it low beyond him and into the bottom corner. Game over, pretty much.

The Magpies did a little bit more attacking for a spell after that and Paul Jones did have one flap that he got away with - though otherwise he looked assured on his return after a long absence from the team. He was helped by a top-class effort by the four in front of him, and Christian Burgess could not be begrudged his MoM award that he edged from Bennett.

In the final 10 minutes, Burgess nipped in to head in the third when Stevens found space for a cross from the left, and sub McNulty - after replacing Smith, who had chased absolutely everything and got no luck for his efforts - sent a towering header past Scott Loach when he rose at the far post to meet Davies' free-kick.

It could have been more than four, in truth, and when the County fans sang 'We lose every week' it was impossible not to admire their spirit. We've been in their position, and they should be congratulated for continuing to back their misfiring team.

As for Pompey, they will have gone home with Cook telling them to keep their feet on their ground and to just 'keep going', as he does. The next act of the League Two play is in front of the Sky cameras at AFC Wimbledon on Monday and it's a shame that half the Blues fans watching will be expecting another slip-up. And even if they win at Kingsmeadow, some will want to watch from behind their seats when Carlisle come to Fratton next Saturday for what will look another winnable game (like Newport did).

The message was clear on a Good Friday turned into a Great Friday for Pompey. They have the talent needed for promotion. But can they channel it to make sure they take the prize? That remains up for debate, one that will last at least until May 7.

Pompey: Jones; Davies, Burgess, Clarke, Stevens; Hollands, Doyle; McGurk (Naismith 67), Roberts (McNulty 84), Bennett; Smith (Chaplin 84). Subs not used: Bass, Webster, Close, Evans.

Referee: Michael Bull

Attendance: 16,670 (485 away fans)

Report by Steve Bone @stevebone1 on Twitter

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