A rollercoaster of game provided a packed crowd with their first home victory in over six months.
Big Sam was quick to praise the character of his players as they came overcame a significant hurdle.
“It was good entertainment, I think,” said Big Sam. “From the perspective of the fans coming to pay their money, they saw an awful lot of entertainment from both sides.
“It was an open, attacking game which ebbed and flowed and swung one way and then the other and then we finally finished it off after the sending-off from Portsmouth when Liam Lawrence dived in. That then turned the game in our favour and we took full advantage of it with two very good goals.
“It was an excellent victory because it’s been a while coming. This was our third home game and we played well. The opposition have played well like they all do here but we got what we wanted in the end and this was the right result.”