Hard-working Taylor happy with Newport victory
It was a Ryan Taylor penalty that secured Pompey’s previous away triumph at Wycombe in January.
And the striker was deadly from the spot once more as the Blues recorded a vital 2-1 victory in Newport.
He won the spot-kick by chasing a long pass before being pulled back by defender Kevin Feely.
Jed Wallace later headed home a second goal, while County had a player sent off in each half.
It was a performance full of running for Taylor, who was wisely substituted after avoiding a second yellow card following a foul.
He said: “The manager just told me to make a nuisance of myself and hold the ball up, which I thought I did very well.
“He also said to go out there, enjoy ourselves and play with a smile – I think you could see the difference in our performance.
“I had to chase some lost causes down and put pressure on their defence and that’s what happened for the penalty.
“Newport applied some pressure of their own towards the end, but we saw the game out and thankfully got the three points.
“We did the business out on the pitch and we were all very happy in the changing room afterwards.”
The result helped create some much-needed breathing space between Pompey and the bottom two.
Taylor said: “We’ve opened up a five-point gap now and that’s exactly what we needed.
“We need to take each game as it comes and keep racking up the points so we can get to safety as soon as possible.”