Defender ends goal drought in Newport win
A first goal for Pompey was surely top of Enda Stevens’ list for Father Christmas.
And it duly arrived in south Wales on Boxing Day as the Blues fought from behind to dramatically win at Newport.
The left-back lashed home a leveller after Danny Rose had reduced the deficit, while Kal Naismith grabbed a late winner having earlier missed a penalty.
And Stevens was thrilled to open his account for the club in such a memorable contest for Pompey.
He said: “It happened so quickly that I’m not too sure exactly what did happen, but I remember that Rosey spotted me and I think my first touch made the finish easier. It’s a monkey off my back.
“We’re absolutely buzzing because you don’t expect to win games when you go two goals down.
“It was disappointing to go in behind at the break and we were on top in the second half, so the second goal was a kick in the teeth.
“But we got one back, missed a penalty and then scored twice late on to get all three points – it’s an amazing feeling.
“We rallied together and ended up winning the game – and I’m not sure we’d have done that last season.
“It’s a massive result for us and hopefully one that can kick-start a run. Now we’ll look at Yeovil on Friday and try to collect another three points.”
The surface at Rodney Parade – which is shared with two rugby sides – had more in common with a ploughed field than a football pitch.
Stevens said: “We worked hard all last week to prepare for this game because we knew the conditions wouldn’t suit our way of playing.
“Everyone was on the same wavelength and we had to be a bit more direct than we would usually be.
“We’ve actually been training on bad pitches to get used to it and to make sure that there were no surprises.”