It was his first league start since Luton were beaten at Fratton Park on the opening day of the season.
And Brett Pitman certainly made the most of his opportunity to impress after replacing Oli Hawkins up front against Rochdale.
Pompey’s skipper provided an assist for Jamal Lowe before scoring himself in the 3-1 victory at Spotland.
It means he has now netted in each of his past four appearances and Pitman was pleased with his contribution
The striker said: “Obviously I’ve been looking to start more games – that’s not a secret. But we’ve been winning and Oli’s done well.
“I’ve had to bide my time, impress when I’ve come off the bench and now the manager’s given me a chance. I scored one and set another up, so it’s pleasing.
"It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done before – you have to earn it. I think I’ve done that over the past few weeks."
“If you’re not starting then you’ve got to do well when you come on and also in training, otherwise you won’t be selected.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done before – you have to earn it. I think I’ve done that over the past few weeks.”
Pompey had to recover from falling behind to Aaron Wilbraham’s wonder strike in the opening few minutes.
But they battled back to secure a win that sees them restored to the League One summit and extends their unbeaten record to 10 matches.
Pitman said: “We’ve got characters and winners throughout the team, as well as a good mentality – probably better than we had last season.
“Going behind so early was a setback, but I don’t think anyone could have had any complaints if we went in 4-1 up at the break.
“We had some good chances in the first half and it was a bit tougher in the second, but we did well in both boxes.
“Your aim is to win every game or at least not get beaten, so we’re building momentum and spirit. If we lose one, then we’ll try to go on another run.”