He has not found first team appearances as easy to come by this season.
But Gareth Evans has certainly made his case for a run in the side with a man-of-the-match display against Northampton in the Checkatrade Trophy.
He completed – and was involved in the build-up – an impressive team move to give the Blues the lead at Fratton Park.
Stuart O’Keefe then grabbed a second after the break to see them comfortably progress to the last 16.
And Evans was pleased that the hosts were able to see off a stubborn Cobblers outfit in front of a sparse crowd.
Pompey’s skipper said: “It was nice to be back on the scoresheet and it was a good team goal that would have been easy on the eye.
“Brandon came out with the ball from their set-piece, it’s come out wide to me and then I passed to Conor. He didn’t really leave me with too much to do.
"It was a good team goal that would have been easy on the eye."
“Northampton were good at getting men behind the ball and that made it difficult for us to break them down.
“That was part of their game-plan and it made things frustrating at times, but once we got the second we looked in control.
“There was a bit of sketchy period just after half-time, although aside from that we dominate and deserved the win.”
The result means that Pompey are now just three victories away from a place at Wembley in April’s final.
Evans said: “We’ve approached every game in the right way and treated them as we would any other fixture.
“It can be tough mentally when there are only a few hundred people inside the ground because it’s something we’re not used to.
“So fair play to all the lads for applying themselves. We’re taking it seriously and want to get to Wembley.”