Boss thrilled with second half display
‘A game of two halves’ is a well-worn and tired cliché.
But it perfectly describes Pompey’s trip to Victoria Road to take on the side sitting bottom of the pile in League Two.
There was not too much quality on show in the first half and Ashley Hemmings’ acrobatic effort saw Dagenham leading at the break.
However, Michael Doyle, Christian Burgess, Gareth Evans and Kyle Bennett all struck after the break to turn the match on its head.
And Paul Cook was delighted that his side were able to recover from their poor start to claim all three points.
The Blues boss said: “The most important thing – especially at this stage of the season – is that we won the game 4-1.
“We could be here all day talking about how bad we were at times, but I thought we were excellent in the second half.
“That’s what you expect from guys like Michael Doyle, Gary Roberts and Kyle Bennett, while Michael Smith was immense.
“Great credit must go to all the players and it’s they who deserve the plaudits for that result – they really do want to please the fans.
“I don’t think this side’s character can ever be questioned and it was a great day for us overall.
“It sets a benchmark for where we want to go in the future and we’ve got to concentrate on picking up plenty more points.
“The atmosphere in the dressing room afterwards was electric and now we’ve got a big week ahead of a game against Plymouth.”
The result saw Pompey win three successive league matches for the first time this season and strengthened their hopes of automatic promotion.
Cook said: “We’ve got to believe in this run we’re putting together and we can’t influence what any other side does.
“Now we just need to make sure that we all stay together on this journey until the very end.”
Watch Cook’s thoughts on the game below or subscribe to Pompey PlayerHD for extended interviews with the manager and Bennett.