Mous: Why we made a halftime change
Tino Anjorin was handed his longest stint in a Pompey shirt for five-anda-half months - and John Mousinho was delighted with the Bolton cameo.
Disappointed with the Blues’ first-half display, their head coach introduced the Chelsea man for Owen Moxon at half-time, slotting in alongside Marlon Park in the centre of midfield.
Challenged with a deeplying role, the 22-year-old responded with an eyecatching second half.
It was only his 11th Pompey outing since joining in August - and the most amount of minutes in a game since October’s 3-2 win at Reading.
Mousinho told The News: ‘Paris Maghoma was running the game and we have a really good bench behind us. I thought we just needed a change, we weren't getting on the ball enough.
‘Owen (Moxon) has been brilliant for us since he’s come in, no issue whatsoever, but Tino did really well in the second half.
‘It’s brilliant having him back, obviously we know what to expect when Tino sets foot on the pitch - just keeping him on the pitch is the biggest difficulty for us.
‘He played as a six, we know he can do that, he can also play as a 10, he can play off the left. We’ve probably seen glimpses of how good he is, it’s just making sure we see a bit more of that.
‘He was very unlucky not to hit the back of the net as well.
‘Tino looked strong, powerful, he drove a couple of times and, while we were looking at Maghoma running the game in the first half, Tino got the better of him at times in the second half. Also in that withdrawn role, his defensive responsibilities were massive against a side which is very good on the ball.’
Anjorin made his injury comeback with 20 minutes off the bench against Derby earlier this month, before being left out of the squad against Shrewsbury as a precaution.
Now, with one point needed for promotion, he could play a central part in the final three matches.
Mousinho added: ‘It has taken him a couple of weeks, he probably needed that appearance against Derby to dust off some of the cobwebs, then he wasn’t fit for Shrewsbury.
‘Hopefully he’s got there with his performance on Saturday.’