Pompey may have finally discovered the answer to a big selection dilemma
IT WAS an experiment that Pompey have been weighing up for the past couple of weeks.
And having previously put it on the backburner, the Blues finally took a gamble against Oxford.
When it was announced that Harvey White was in the starting XI at the Kassam Stadium, the visitors were expected to play a 4-3-3 formation.
However, moments into the game, it was quickly apparent that wasn't the case.
Having admitted it was an option at the start of the month, Kenny Jackett handed Ronan Curtis a striking role.
The ex-Derry man featured upfront alongside the recalled Ellis Harrison in a 4-4-2 system, with White on the left-flank.
The decision yielded a muchneeded 1-0 victory, arresting a two-match losing streak and cementing Pompey's berth in the play-off positions.
Curtis and Harrison had few goalscoring opportunities between them, although their pressing and work-rate unsettled Oxford's defence throughout.
U's boss Karl Robinson admitted after the game his centre-back duo Elliott Moore and Rob Atkinson never looked comfortable.
Certainly, it's a set-up that bore fruit and one that Jackett will surely utilise again.
But perhaps more importantly, it's a way to finally get Curtis and Michael Jacobs into the same team when the latter returns from his hamstring injury.
It's been either or who's operated on the left-wing since Jacobs arrived on a free transfer from Wigan in September.
As wingers go, their styles are contrasting. Jacobs' game is about guile and craft, while Curtis' approach is more direct.
Still, it's meant that Jackett's struggled to get the pair into his team simultaneously.
There's only been a solitary occasion when Curtis and
Jacobs have both started a match together.
That arrived against Wigan in September when Pompey slipped to a dismal 2-1 defeat.
Jacobs operated in the No10 position against his old club yet hasn't featured in the role since.
The ex-Wolves man, when fit, has instead flourished operating where he's done so for the majority of his career – on the left.
There have been several performances where he's proven a cut above, such as the Blues' 3-1 win at Charlton earlier this month.
Perhaps one criticism of Jacobs has been that he doesn’t offer as much of a direct goal threat as Curtis, having netted just twice in 16 appearances.
On the other hand, Curtis has hit double figures for a third successive season at Fratton Park, which is an impressive feat for a winger.
The Republic of Ireland international is on 10 goals in 35 outings – a far superior ratio than Jacobs.
With John Marquis out of sorts, Marcus Harness not bagging in the league for almost four months and Ellis Harrison more of a focal point than a natural finisher, Pompey need as many goalscoring threats as possible. Curtis certainly offers that.
But when Jacobs is back fit, there's also a need to get him back into the side.
Having been promoted three times from League One and been regarded as a major coup upon his arrival, someone of his ilk will be invaluable in the business end of the season.
It doesn't mean it will be at the expense of Curtis, though. There now seems a way for them to thrive together.