Pompey mixed resilience with quality to win at Newport, says boss Paul Cook.
He was not surprised they scored goals against a team who wanted a proper, open game - and was not surprised they were able to hold their lead for the final few minutes.
The 3-2 win, courtesy of goals by Danny Rose, Enda Stevens and Kal Naismith, leaves Pompey just five points off a top three place and three points ahead of fifth placed Luton.
Cook told The News: 'We knew about the pitch, but our players keep going. That’s what they did. The players showed their honesty. We had to release ourselves from the shackles of being a nearly team. My players have done that and given the fans a day to enjoy.
‘We got what we deserved. To come in and get the three points from a difficult game is pleasing. When people want to open up with us and have a game we will score goals. We are a freescoring team at our best.
‘The lads are delighted and we’re on a good run. If we’d beat Hartlepool we’d be sitting here on 40 points. You get what you deserve though. I’ll be the same next week as last week in the pursuit of that success.
‘When we had to defend for the last five minutes I didn’t have a problem with it. We can defend. ‘I didn’t think Fordey really had a shot to save. We’re fine with it.
'You can’t really play football on that pitch, but our lads did at times. That goal from Rosey was quality play. I knew, across 90 minutes, we’d cause problems with our quality play — but we showed character as well.’
Pompey go to Yeovil on Friday night.
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