The relief was palpable around Fratton Park when referee Craig Hicks blew the final whistle.
A 2-1 victory over Burton represented the first time Pompey had collected all three points since seeing off Morecambe in the middle of December.
Goals from Sean Raggett and Michael Jacobs got the job done, with Gassan Ahadme’s effort for the visitors proving no more than a consolation.
And Danny Cowley was delighted with the way his side fought to get their campaign back on track.
The Blues boss said: “It’s a really important win and credit must go to the players because we expended so much energy on Saturday.
“We knew that this game would test us physically and we were very light in midfield, but we found the answers.
“Ronan did a brilliant job for the team – he’s so selfless that boy. When you’re up against it, he’s the type of character you need.
"We knew that this game would test us physically and we were very light in midfield, but we found the answers."
“We scored two good goals in the first half. The opener was a well-worked set-piece and Sean finally scored with his head.
“The second was great for us because we work so hard on that counter-press and it was a really calm finish from Michael.
“We started the second half well and then they scored from nowhere. I was pleased with our response to that, though.
“I felt like we had chance after chance, but didn’t take them and then it seemed as though we started to play for the end. I suppose that’s natural when you haven’t won in a while.
“It's been tough and things haven’t gone for us – you’re either the victim or the fighter in these instances. The boys got what they deserved.”
Kieron Freeman missed the match with concussion and is now set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Cowley said: “It looks like he’s ruptured a ligament. It happened after he got knocked out at Oxford and then he rolled his ankle.
“That’s not good. We’ll get an opinion from a specialist, so we’ll have to wait and see, but usually they require an operation.”