Smith revels in first Pompey goal
Michael Smith was delighted to open his goalscoring account for Pompey against Bristol Rovers
The on-loan striker headed home Ben Davies’ cross in first half stoppage-time to add to Gareth Evans’ opener.
Marc McNulty then came off the bench to score another, as the Blues cruised to a 3-1 victory at Fratton Park.
And Smith – who might have had a hat-trick on another day – was thrilled to be involved in such a dominant display.
He said: “I was pleased to score. It was a great ball in from Ben and I just had to make sure that I got on the end of it. That’s what you want from your full-backs and he’s got it in abundance.
“The gaffer was having a bit of banter with me about the chances I missed, but I was getting in the right positions, so I was happy with that.
“I thought that we thoroughly deserved the result and hopefully we can take that into the next game.
“We all know how bad last week was, so we wanted to turn it around – for ourselves and for the fans.
“There was a desire from us – I thought that Michael Doyle and Ben Close in midfield were absolutely tremendous. But we had it all over the pitch.
“We were working hard in training all week, so the boys all knew what they had to do to get the result.
“Now we’re getting towards the business end of the season and it’s important we maintain this level of performance to get to where we want to be.”
Smith was particularly pleased to send the Fratton faithful home with smiles on their faces.
He said: “I knew about the atmosphere here before I came. I thought the fans were tremendous and got the outcome they deserved.”