Pompey star Marcus Harness was the star of the match as Portsmouth came from a goal down to defeat Ipswich town, their play-off rivals, 2-1 in manager Danny Cowley's debut match in charge of the club.

Marcus Harness claimed an important win for the new boss 18 minutes from the end of the encounter after skipper Tom Naylor had equaled the scoreline following James Norwood's opening goal.

Portsmouth safe hand Craig MacGillivray was the first of the two goalkeepers to be called into goal-saving action when he stopped Alan Judge's 20-yard free-kick from entering the net in the 18th minute of the encounter.

The Portsmouth goalkeeper was however powerless to stop Ipswich star Norwood from scoring the opener 13 minutes before half-time after running to connect perfectly well with Gwion Edwards' delightful through-ball.

Danny Cowley's men levelled just nine minutes after Ipswich’s opener when Naylor rose highest to head in the equalising goal from a delightful corner kick taken by Ronan Curtis.

Ryan Williams was close to putting the home side ahead early in the second forty-five minute after being placed through by Harness but couldn’t hit the target perfectly well.

Ronan Curtis once again was the provider for what eventually proved to be the winner when his cross was perfectly met by Harness who, after his initial shot was blocked, smashed the rebound into the net.

Pompey only appointed Danny Cowley recently as boss on a deal that will initially last until the end of the current campaign, and he is betting on the team to take a quick turn form before then.

The ex-Lincoln and Huddersfield Town manager is being assisted by Nicky, his younger brother, with the pair out of work since last year July when they were both shown the exit by Huddersfield.

The Cowley brothers had in the past managed Braintree Town and Concord Rangers before joining Lincoln in 2016 - where they greatly enjoyed success - including gaining promotion twice, an EFL Trophy in 2018, and guiding the side to the Emirates FA Cup last eight in 2017.

Cowley took charge of the Imps when they were in the National League, and their run in the FA Cup was the first time a non-league team had made the quarter-finals in more than 100 years. He then helped the side gain promotion to the Sky Bet League Two, and then to the Sky Bet League One.

Cowley left Lincoln to take charge of Huddersfield town in September of 2019, a spell that lasted less than 12 months with the Terriers finishing the campaign just 3 points above the English Championship relegation zone.

Danny Cowley replaces Kenny Jackett as a manager, who left his role as first-team coach of the League One team on Sunday, just a day after they suffered a loss in the EFL Trophy final on penalties to Salford.

Danny Cowley said upon arrival: "This is a club with unbelievable tradition, so the board didn't need to sell it to us. We're proud and privileged to be here."

"Hopefully they saw two hard-working people who love the game and we're delighted to be at Pompey.

"We always have the ambition of leaving a club in a better position than we found it. We'll be doing everything in order to achieve that here."