Matt Clarke has collected plenty of man-of-the-match awards for Pompey this season.
But none have been as high-profile as the prize the defender was handed at Wembley following their penalty triumph over Sunderland in the Checkatrade Trophy.
There is a strong argument for a number of Blues players to have been named ‘star man’, although it was Clarke who got the official nod.
He played a key role in both goals and was as dependable as ever at the back, but was more pleased with the team effort.
Clarke said: “It’s obviously a nice day out when you get to play at Wembley, but the focus is always to win.
“Playing there in front of so many people is something that you dream about when you start as a footballer.
"Everyone had to dig in, but you’ve got to take your hat off to the guys who scored the goals and took the penalties."
“To win is indescribable really, but these moments don’t come around all the time, so you have to enjoy them.
“Everyone had to dig in, but you’ve got to take your hat off to the guys who scored the goals and took the penalties.
“We weren’t too happy with the way we performed in the first half, but Sunderland seemed to take a step back and it allowed us to get on the ascendency.
“They got their equaliser right at the end, but we remained positive and still had belief going into the shoot-out.”
Pompey will now try to use their Wembley success as a catalyst to go on and win promotion to the Championship.
Clarke said: “We’ve been building momentum with a few league wins and then hopefully this result can give us a lift going into the remaining fixtures.
“It’s a day that we’ll all remember and it’s going to be right up there in our careers, so now we want more like these.”