Kenny Jackett eyed up the prospect of a Premier League side visiting Fratton after paying tribute to Altrincham for pushing Pompey all the way in the FA Cup.

Brett Pitman's late header put the Blues in round three after a penalty had cancelled out Ben Close's opener. The draw takes place on BBC2 this evening.

Jackett told the club website: 'We have to say congratulations to Altrincham because they played very well and it’s two tricky rounds we’ve had to negotiate now. It could have gone either way and I didn’t feel comfortable at any stage, so credit to our opponents for that.

'[I don’t think we either had the quality or got our approach right — and you certainly need one of those. We had a lot of possession and got into some positive situations, but were then wasteful in the final third.

'Ellis hit the post and the keeper made a good save, but they’ve had opportunities to score of their own. We got ourselves ahead through an excellent goal from Ben. It was a great volley and gave their keeper no chance.

'Then we tried to build on that, but again were wasteful when we really should have put the tie to bed. That was frustrating and the penalty meant Altrincham got to 1-1. I’m pleased to say we then dug deep and got the winner from a set-piece.

'Ellis won the first ball and then Brett was able to lose his man at the far post to get the late goal and make sure we came out on top in a difficult game. It’s hard to win football matches on a regular basis, but we found a way and are on a positive run at the moment.

'We’ve had two tough ties and we’re delighted to be in the hat. If we could get one of the Premier League big-boys here at Fratton Park, that would be great.'

Pompey: MacGillivray; Haunstrup, Hawkins, Burgess, Brown (c); Walkes, Close; Harness, Marquis (Pitman 46), Curtis (Williams 46); Harrison. Subs not used: Bass, Bolton, Raggett, Cannon, Evans.

Referee: Tom Nield

Attendance: 8,539 (622 away fans)

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