Bristol Rovers were relegated to Sky Bet League Two after losing 1-0 at play-off chasing Portsmouth

Ronan Curtis’ first-half goal was enough to earn Pompey their first win in five matches and send Joey Barton’s Rovers down.

After a slow start where Rovers had the majority of the ball, Pompey took the lead with what proved to be the only goal in the 27th minute.

Goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray caught the ball at a corner before starting a quick counter-attack which ended with George Byers’ subtle pass into Curtis who stroked his shot into the net.

On the stroke of half-time home defender Rasmus Nicolaisen had to clear the ball away from under his own crossbar as Rovers pushed for an equaliser.

The visitors were restricted to long-range shots on goal in the second half and Curtis should have sealed the win 11 minutes from time.

Andy Cannon released Curtis with a defence-splitting pass which the Republic of Ireland international could only steer wide with the goal gaping.