It was the old cliche - a game of two halves - as the Owls largely laboured to give away the lead in the first half before putting some fizz into their game after the break. The Owls wrestled the game well and truly into their favour, punishing the increasingly nervous hosts. They had a few wee storms to weather, but should be highly commended for a character-full turnaround effort.
Michael Smith belted the winner from distance, a thunderchuffer of a strike that stuck one in the eye of the home supporters that had booed him in a Portsmouth shirt all those years ago. It came after his knockdown provided the assist for Josh Windass’ leveller.
Here are our player ratings from a thrilling evening at Fratton Park.
5. Pol Valentin - 5
A shame that his go-go-gadget foot clearance was rendered useless a few second later when Portsmouth scored. Other than that, it was a largely ineffectual performance and he was taken off at the break. | Ellis / UGC
6. Shea Charles - 6
Has played a lot of football in recent weeks and you just wonder if that's taken a slight toll on his sparkle - but he was solid all the same. It's a mark of his quality that he remained effective - broke lines and did his bit of the dirty work. | Steve Ellis / UGC
7. Barry Bannan - 8
Had plenty of the ball and struggled to make much of it in what was a relatively stagnant first half for the Owls. Seemed to push on further forward after the break and it made a difference - he really took parts of the second dig by the scruff of the neck. His ball into Smith for Windass' goal was a stunner - and was a brave use of the ball with easier passes on. A buzzy bee. | UGC
8. Max Lowe - 6
Very tidy in defence - he made a vital block to deny Yengi. Contributed well going forward - he does it differently to Johnson but offers plenty. Made tackles and spun balls down the channel nicely. | UGC