Awford hails Portsmouth defence

Portsmouth manager Andy Awford saluted his side's defensive determination after they sunk Luton 2-0 at Fratton Park.

The Blues wasted no time opening the scoring as Matt Tubbs fired home Jed Wallace's ball into the box after three minutes. Another Wallace cross caused havoc in the 62nd minute, allowing Ryan Taylor to seal the points with a powerful finish. Despite promotion-chasing Luton piling on the pressure in the closing stages, the Hatters could not find their way through the Pompey rearguard. And Awford is delighted with his side's defensive record. He said: "That's six clean sheets in 10 now. You don't lose football matches if you don't concede goals. "It's not just down to the goalkeeper and the back three; it's down to the whole team. The whole team defend as a unit. "I don't know what the stats show, but they probably had more possession than us. As a unit, we were very solid and they enjoy defending. "When you have the threat we have at the other end of the pitch, it gives you a chance when you don't concede goals." Awford's side could still make a last-ditch bid for the League Two play-offs. They are 13th in the table on 48 points - eight behind Plymouth in seventh. But with five clubs separating Pompey and the top seven, he knows they can only maintain their form, pile up the points and hope for the best. Awford added: "We'll try and win Tuesday and we'll try and win Saturday. We'll get as many points as we can between now and the end of the season. Wherever that takes us, it takes us. "At the moment I'm delighted with our current form and the string of results we have had. We've had this level of form since Christmas and the players deserve a lot of credit for what they've done." Luton boss John Still was gutted to see his defence breached so early. But he insists he is happy with the Hatters' form as they hold sixth spot in League Two. He said: "We conceded a poor goal, but after that I thought we were the best team. It's the best we've played, which is really pleasing and we seem to have found a bit of form. "I thought we played very, very well, had two or three shots cleared off the line, created opportunities and I thought our pressure was good. But we got beaten, so I have to put that into perspective. "We've lost some games lately when we've been disappointed and I was disappointed to lose, but thought our performance was like a Luton performance. "We've got to produce that every week between now and the end of the season. We can't make the errors, so early in the game. You end up chasing from early on."