Coleman: Victory wasn't pretty to watch
John Coleman didn't enjoy the football on offer as Accrington ended Pompey's winning run.
And the Stanley boss admitted his men enjoyed a stroke of luck as Gary Roberts passed up a great early chance to set his team on their way at the Crown Ground.
The Blues saw their four-game winning sequence come to a close as Paddy Lacey got the only goal on Saturday.
The clash failed to spark to life with decent chances at a premium throughout and both teams failing to find a rhythm for long spells.
Accrington did find a footing after Lacey’s 52nd-minute goal but Coleman was unimpressed with the quality on offer during the game.
Coleman told clubcall.com: ‘I didn’t really enjoy the match, it wasn’t a good game and both teams cancelled each other out.
‘We weren’t a threat in the first half, apart from hitting the bar from their player. We had a few words at half-time to be more of an attacking threat and I think we shaded the second half.’
Pompey should have made the breakthrough when Carl Baker’s cross dropped to Roberts a few yards out.
The 32-year-old put his angled finish wide of the post, however, and Coleman admitted that he viewed that as a slice of fortune for his side.
Coleman said: ‘We had a bit of luck with Gary missing that early chance and it was always going to take one moment of quality to change the game – and thankfully it fell to us.’
That quality came from Lacey who was restored to the side after Scott Brown was taken ill.
Coleman felt his 30-yard strike deserved to be the winner and wasn’t surprised to see the midfielder deliver.
He said: ‘It wasn’t a shock to us to see Paddy score that kind of goal.
‘We have seen him do it in training and in behind-closed-doors games.
‘We know he is capable of that and it was a goal worthy of winning any game.’