Liam Manning admitted revenge was sweet after his impressive Bristol City side romped to a comfortable Championship success against struggling Portsmouth.
The Robins had lost by the same margin in the corresponding game at Fratton Park this season but this time were out of sight by half-time and ended the game just four points off the play-off places.
Anis Mehmeti broke clear down the middle to break the deadlock on 15 minutes and fired a second from Nahki Wells’ 32nd-minute cross. Three minutes later Rob Dickie fired the third from close range after Portsmouth goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid palmed an effort from Luke McNally into his path.
Delighted head coach Manning said: “Of course, we talked about what had happened away at Portsmouth when we got what we deserved on the night.
“It was a spur to make sure we did better today and I couldn’t be happier with the performance.
“We brought Anis Mehmeti and Nahki Wells into the starting line-up and their contributions again illustrated the depth we now have to our squad. Competition for places is fierce.
“With just over half the season gone, we are four points off the play-offs and I believe there are clear signs of progress.
“It is for the fans to dream of what might be between now and May. I want them to enjoy the journey, so why not?
“Our recruitment team have ensured we have players possessing the necessary physicality, as well as the ability to do well.
“But it will only pay off if we continue working hard. We will enjoy this win tonight, but every match is a challenge and it’s straight back tomorrow to focus on the next fixture.”
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho said: “It was a disappointing performance and result. We shot ourselves in the foot with the opening goal after starting well.
“The most disappointing thing for me was that we went under after conceding that goal and gave away two more, one from a corner when we didn’t compete for the ball while raising arms for an offside that wasn’t there.
“I made changes today because it has been a very busy period and players can look a bit leggy with three games in a week.
“That wasn’t the reason we lost. We can look at all 11 players in that respect.
“It was just a case of freshening things up. We still had more than enough out there to compete, but we didn’t.
“We want to strengthen the squad in January because we have been hit by injuries and need to bring some new players to the club.
“Today hasn’t changed the focus on what we need to do in the transfer window.”
