Pompey returned to winning ways at The Keepmoat Stadium, securing their first win of the 2011 calendar year with goals from Dave Kitson and Joel Ward either side of half-time.
Pompey made one change to their starting line-up, Ricardo Rocha replacing Aaron Mokoena who was 'stranded' in South Africa waiting for a renewed work permit to be processed. Liam Lawrence took over the captain's armband.
The Keepmoat Stadium is a modern, 'cookie-cutter' arena, similar in design to other new grounds that have emerged over the last few years.
The stadium hosts men and women's football as well as rugby league and there is an athletics facility next door.
It is easily accessed from the M1/M18 and on arrival in Doncaster it's well sign-posted and simple to find. Match day car parking is simple and straightforward and the stewards helpful and friendly.
The stadium itself holds around 15,000 fans and has a uniform eighteen rows of red seats all around. One side of the arena hosts hospitality, the other the media. The away fans' end has a good sized concourse and the viewing lines of the pitch are unobstructed.
It is a super facility and one that over 1,000 Pompey fans took the opportunity to experience providing a rousing backing for their team, cheering them on to victory.
Managers and players alike talk a lot about the significance of the fans being their vocal twelfth man but this was more of a good old fashioned day out.
Overall, this was a professional Pompey performance and they were rarely troubled in a game which never reached great heights in terms of quality or excitement.
This was a very different performance from the home team to the one they gave at Fratton Park earlier in the season when they won 3-2. That day they played some nice football. On this occasion that just wasn't evident.
Unable to break down a resolute Pompey defence Doncaster resorted to a number of long range efforts in both the first and second halves, none of which troubled Jamie Ashdown.
The closest they came to doing so was a first half shot from James Coppinger, driving in to the penalty area, which was well saved by Ashdown and eventually cleared away from the danger zone for a corner by Hermann Hreidarsson.
The Ice Man had a solid game at left back. There was one worrying moment in the second half when he went down in a heap following a tough challenge with a Doncaster player, his recent cruciate injury an all too recent a memory. Thankfully he emerged unscathed, the home fans' jeers were unwarranted.
Pompey also used the long-ball a lot during the game, trying to make the most of their height advantage up-front. Unfortunately, firing long-balls to Dave Kitson, often operating in a lone role, did not always bear fruit. He's a striker who can be effective with the ball played in to his feet, when he gets it right he can twist and turn past any defender.
Pompey's opening goal, scored in front of the travelling fans, came just before the half-time break. The ball fell to Greg Halford, who was up for a Liam Lawrence set-piece, his shot hit the right hand upright before rebounding back in to play where Kitson threw himself at the ball and headed it into the unguarded net. He paid the penalty for his braveness and required treatment before leaving the pitch and before play could resume.
HT: Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Portsmouth
Pompey's second goal owed a lot to route one. Ashdown cleared the ball down the left flank to David Nugent who was having another workmanlike game up front. His flicked on header fell in to the path of Joel Ward who calmly dinked the ball high, up and over the approaching keeper and in to the net after the first bounce.
It was a well taken goal from Ward who had been pushed into a more forward position for this game. His youthful energy and enthusiasm shone through and this goal was just reward.
On-loan Jonathan Hogg had a good game in the middle of the park, he has improved every time he's pulled on a Pompey shirt. His dismissal right at the end of normal time for a handball, that the referee deemed to be deliberate and one that warranted a second yellow card, looked a poor decision. Hogg will now miss one match, red cards that result from two yellows cannot be appealed; another one of those rules which needs to be sent to football's equivalent of Room 101.
Pompey's defence was able to see out the remainder of the game with little trouble, including the added five minutes. It was a continuation of what started before Hogg was dismissed.
Rocha, Halford, de Laet and Hreidarsson together looked like a secure, organised defensive unit, something Pompey fans have not witnessed on too many occasions this season.
The clean sheet was well deserved and almost as welcome as the three points.
At the final whistle the players and manager saluted the Pompey fans who hadn't stopped chanting for much of the second half. It was one of those afternoons when the Pompey fans could be proud to say they were there.
FT Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Portsmouth
The post-match phone in show on BBC Radio Sheffield, one of a number of local radio options, highlighted a touchline spat between former Bournemouth team mates Steve Cotterill and Sean O'Driscoll during the game that continued afterwards.
Some home fans also expressed disappointment with what they perceived to be Pompey's time wasting antics and the poor performance by the referee. It made interesting listening all the way down the M1 to the Midlands when the second half commentary of Derby County against Leicester City kicked-in and was endured through to full-time on BBC Radio Leicester. It was dire. Thank goodness for Alan McLaughlin who has joined BBC Radio Solent.
Portsmouth team versus Doncaster Rovers: Jamie Ashdown Ritchie de Laet, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Hermann Hreidarsson Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins Liam Lawrence, Joel Ward, David Nugent Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Ibrahimo Sonko, Carl Dickinson, Tom Kilbey, Nadir Ciftci and Kanu
Attendance: 10,288
Pompey MOTM: Ricardo Rocha a terrific return for the Portugeuse defender, added some no-nonsense, grit, determination and solidity to the Pompey defence. Will skipper Mokoena make it back in to the starting line-up on his return?
Next up: Barnsley (home) on Saturday 19th February at 3PM.
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