Waddock sad over Awford exit

Portsmouth caretaker manager Gary Waddock spoke of his disappointment in seeing Andy Awford lose his job after a 1-0 defeat to Stevenage.

An early Tom Pett goal was enough for Boro to clinch their third win in a row and they are now six points clear of eighth-placed Luton as they consolidated their place in the play-off spots. Poor away form was one of the reasons for Awford's departure and despite a strong second-half showing, Pompey could not add to their two wins on the road this season. Waddock said: "Yesterday was very difficult and it's been a crazy 24 hours or so. "Awfs is a fantastic guy and I was sad to see him go but it was one of them where we had to pull together and put in a performance for the club. "All credit to the players, they've done that but I'm bitterly disappointed for Awfs and it came as a surprise because you don't want to see anyone lose their job. "I've been in that position myself so I know how it feels and it's not a nice feeling. "Goals win football matches, it's as simple as that and as well as we've played, especially in the second half, we've conceded an early goal again. "At the moment we're not getting that luck in front of goal but if the lads continue in the remaining fixtures to perform like that, that's all I ask of them." Stevenage were ahead after only three minutes when a free-kick was cleared as far as Pett, who lashed into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Craig Westcarr thought he had equalised for Portsmouth with 20 minutes left when he turned in Dan Butler's cross only for an offside flag to deny him. Stevenage boss Graham Westley said: "Portsmouth are a very big football club and they've got some outstanding footballers - their left-back was playing for England not so long ago. "They put us on the back foot but I thought our lads with the lead were dogged, were resilient and were determined. "The lads are grinding out results and putting in 90 minutes after 90 minutes despite our injury problems. "We've managed to grind the three points out and over the 90 minutes the lads deserve credit for a lot of determination and a very positive attitude to the game. "I'm sure the league table is going to look a little bit better tonight, but the only thing worth worrying about is the next football match - and that's a long, tough trip to Accrington. "We've got to put in a lot of preparation if we're going to put in the type of performance needed to win the points."