Pompey got back to winning ways in convincing style by disposing of promotion rivals Bristol Rovers in a full-blooded affair at Fratton.
Goals by Gareth Evans and Michael Smith - his first for the club - had the points all but won by half-time and sub Marc McNulty finished a lovely move for the third.
The Gas got an injury-time consolation but the result was rarely in doubt and if lifted the Blues back up to fifth in a congested play-off zone.
Fans would have been pleased to see Ben Davies and Evans restored to the starting line-up after being rested last week and the pair were to play a vital part in the victory. Adam Webster was also back in defence in place of Matt Clarke.
Pompey ought to have been ahead with only a minute or so gone but Rovers keeper Steve Mildenhall made a contender for save of the season to keep our Christian Burgess's header from Davies' corner.
Davies led many of Pompey's best attacks down the right and a number of crosses caused alarm in the Rovers defence.
Gary Roberts might have shot instead of playing a square ball as he closed in on the Fratton end goal, then Mildenhall saved well again at the base of a post when Kyel Bennett met Smith's low ball in.
Smith was involved in Pompey's opener on 19 minutes, playing a long ball out to the right, where Davies controlled it, took it on and crossed for Evans, whose flick up and over Mildenhall seemed to take an age to drop in the net just inside the post.
The referee Trevor Kettle was upsetting the home fans constantly and on one occasion he played an 'advantage' after a foul on Roberts that almost led to a Rovers goal - a shot from Rory Gaffney striking the bar after play really should have been stopped.
They say the stroke of half-time is a good time to score and that's when Pompey added their second. Davies' corner was cleared back out to him in front of the south stand and his second ball in was perfect to Smith to glance a header well beyond Mildenhall.
It seemed at the break just a question of how many Pompey would get, with Rovers looking anything but a side whose fine recent form had catapulted them above the Blues in the table.
In truth Pompey were just as dominant in the second half, but could add only one more goal to their tally.
Evans twice and Smith went close to getting that third, and a mix-up between the goalie and one of his defenders only just ended well for Rovers.
McNulty and Adam McGurk replaced Smith and Roberts - the latter later named man of the match - and it was 3-0 on 77 minutes when the excellent Ben Close played in Bennett, whose pass was an invite for McNulty to run on and slam the ball past Mildenhall.
Evans and McGurk each went close to a fourth that would not have been undeserved, but Pompey's defence and Ryan Fulton in goal would have been disappointed not to end the day with a clean sheet after Lee Brown arrowed in a rocket of a free-kick in stoppage time, the kick given for what looked suspiciously like a dive by Stuart Sinclair.
So Pompey sit fifth on 48 points and have played fewer games than three of the other six clubs in the top seven. If they can build on this fine win with victories on the road at Yeovil and Barnet in the next 10 days, the recent blip will be a distant memory
Pompey: Fulton; Davies, Burgess, Webster, Stevens; Close, Doyle (c); Evans, Roberts (McGurk 75), Bennett (Chaplin 86); Smith (McNulty 69). Subs not used: Bass, Clarke, Barton, Tollitt
Referee: Trevor Kettle
Attendance: 17,808 (2,863 away fans)
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