It was some showing from a player who is currently suspended.
Jamal Lowe took advantage of the Checkatrade Trophy’s separate disciplinary rules to bag a brace against Fulham under-21s.
Kal Naismith was also on target in the 3-3 group stage draw at Fratton Park, although the visitors collected a bonus point after winning a penalty shoot-out.
But it was still a performance to savour from Lowe – even if he would have preferred a different outcome.
The winger said: “I wouldn’t say I was satisfied because I’d rather we’d won the game than I score two goals.
“There were a couple of errors and we should have seen it out, but that’s something I’m sure we’ll learn from.
"It was up and down with a very high-tempo – it was almost like a basketball game."
“Both sides had a lot of energy and there were plenty of players on both sides who had something to prove.
“It was up and down with a very high-tempo – it was almost like a basketball game out there at times.
“I didn’t think I was going to be eligible to play, but it was great to break up the suspension a little bit.
“It was a nice bit of skill from Curtis Main for my first goal and then Gareth Evans did well for my second one.”
Lowe still has one match of his ban remaining following a sending off against Rochdale on the opening day.
He said: “It was a bit of a forward’s tackle! I was trying to get to the ball first and their player just managed to nick it away.
“I was a bit unfortunate really. It was a red card to be fair, but it would have been nice if the referee had just shown me a yellow and given me a slap on the wrist.
“I’ll be supporting the boys on Saturday and then we’ll see what happens at Wigan after a good week of training.”