A third goal in two games from winger Paddy Lane helped Portsmouth extend their lead at the top of League One to six points following a 1-0 success at Carlisle United at the weekend.
The 22-year-old took his tally for the season to ten when he stroked home the only goal of the game just after the hour mark, but he admitted it was a below-par first-half performance from the South Coast outfit.
“We’re all very honest with each other and knew that we hadn’t met the standards we set for ourselves,” he told the club website.
“We were sloppy for the first 25 minutes, before growing into the game and then came out for the second half all guns blazing.
On reaching double figures for the campaign he said: “It’s not something I pictured at the start of the season and I just want to keep going as long as I can.
“I don’t set myself targets, but the more goals I score, the more games we’ll win and the closer we get to promotion.”
Elsewhere, former Northern Ireland under-21 international Jamie Reid scored his 21st goal of the season as Stevenage’s League One play-off hopes received a dent after they were held to a 2-2 draw at relegation threatened Port Vale.
In the Premier League, Jonny Evans was used as a substitute in the dying moments of Manchester United’s 2-1 victory at Aston Villa though 20-year-old Conor Bradley was again missing from the Liverpool squad on compassionate grounds.
Defender Brodie Spencer recorded an assist for Huddersfield Town in their entertaining 5-3 defeat at Southampton for whom Shea Charles was an unused substitute and Trai Hume and Daniel Ballard helped Sunderland to move within touching distance of the play-off’s in the Championship with a 3-1 success at home to Plymouth Argyle.
In League One, goalkeeper Luke Southwood kept a sixth clean sheet of the season as struggling Cheltenham Town secured a 1-0 away win at Cambridge United while on-loan striker Dale Taylor picked up the man-of-the-match award as Wycombe Wanderers beat Peterborough United 5-2.
Meanwhile in the Scottish Cup, Matty Kennedy started for Kilmarnock while both Liam Donnelly and Kyle Vassell came on as substitutes as the Ayrshire outfit set up a quarter-final tie away to Aberdeen following their 2-0 win over League One Cove Rangers at Rugby Park.
Midfielder Sean McAllister made hisfirst start for Inverness Caledonian following his loan move from Everton, as the Championship side went out at the fifth round stage after their 3-1 home defeat to Hibernian who last won the competition back in 2016.
There was disappointment in the Women’s FA Cup for Ellie Mason and Rebecca Holloway as Birmingham City lost 6-2 to Leicester City despite at one stage being level at 2-2 with the Super League outfit.
Laura Rafferty’s Southampton also succumbed to top-flight opposition as Manchester defeated them 3-1 at St Mary’s while Natalie Johnston and Ella Haughey were part of the Nottingham Forest team that were trounced 7-1 at home by Everton.
Finally, in the U21 Premier League, Charlie Allen scored for the second consecutive game as Leeds United drew 1-1 with Arsenal and 17-year-old Kieron Morrison registered a brace in Liverpool U18’s 5-1 defeat of Blackburn Rovers.