Few people would have predicted at the start of the season that only Colby Bishop would beat winger Paddy Lane to a double figure goal tally - especially when he looked a little way down the widemen pecking order for a starting spot.

But Lane has forced his way into the side, stayed there - and has now scored those 10 goals - including three in the past two games, against Northampton and, for the winner, at Carlisle.

Everyone is delighted and Lane told the club media after the win at Brunton Park: '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.'

Lane reflected that it was a story of two halves in terms of Pompey's performance levels at Carlisle - with a slow start leading to some frank talking at half-time.

He said: ''We were sloppy for the first 25 minutes before growing into the game and then came out for the second half all guns blazing. We’re all very honest with each other and knew that we hadn’t met the standards we set for ourselves.

'The gaffer got into us and you could see the response – we managed to get the goal to send the travelling fans home happy. It’s unbelievable that they’ve made that trip up and packed out the away end, so I’m delighted for them.

'It was great to see Abu come on and change the game like that – I can’t thank him enough for the pass. Now we have to remain focused and be ready to go again on Tuesday.'

Photo: Action Images

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