John Mousinho hailed a player he dropped for helping Portsmouth take another big step towards the Championship with a 1-0 win at Peterborough.
The Pompey chief left out two-goal midweek hero Kusini Yengi for a crunch clash at promotion rivals Peterborough.
But the Australian ace responded by climbing off the bench to grab the only goal that kept Portsmouth five points clear at the summit.
Yengi, sent on after Christian Saydee limped off in the first half, raced on to a pass from fellow substitute Gavin Whyte in the 77th minute to fire past Posh keeper Jed Steer.
Peterborough still look bound for the play-offs despite their five-match winning streak coming to an end.
Top-scorer Ephron Mason-Clark blasted against the bar midway through the first half as they drew a blank for just the third time all season in League One.
“I really feel for him,” said Mousinho about match-winner Yengi. “It wasn’t an easy decision to leave him out.
“He scored twice on Tuesday night and his overall performance was really good.
“He has been excellent whenever he has played and his goalscoring record is superb.
“It could have been a difficult one to take, but he was really professional about it when told yesterday. He trained really well in the afternoon, stayed positive around the place and thoroughly deserved his goal.
“At this stage of the season it is all about winning games, but it was a really good performance from us as well.
“The fans made it a special day. That was probably the best away atmosphere I’ve ever experienced.
“To be able to win the game and put in that performance was superb. It was pure relief at the final whistle.
“We’ve just got to keep our heads down and keep winning as many games as possible.”
Posh boss Darren Ferguson said: “I’m really disappointed with the result, but really proud of the performance.
“We were by far the better team on the day and they’re really lucky to come away with a win.
“If anyone from Portsmouth says otherwise, they are kidding themselves.
“We controlled large parts of the game. Some of the play was fantastic.
“But football can be a cruel game and we just couldn’t get that first goal.
“You always need that bit of luck in big games, but we didn’t have it when Ephron hit the underside of the bar.
“I’m gutted for the players as they didn’t deserve to lose the game. You’d rather win and have a bad performance like on Wednesday.
“But if we play like that in the last eight games, we’ll be fine. I’ve still got a lot of confidence that we’re in a good place.
“The break has come at a good time to freshen up for a last push.”
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