After a bright 10 minutes we have done very little to put any pressure on Pompey. Love Morris, but this has been his poorest half for us. Too slow on the ball, passing backwards, and in defence chasing the ball rather than covering the runner. Up front no one holding the ball and bringing others into play. Pack, their playmaker given the freedom of the park rather than being man marked. Poor marking within our box has given them their two best chances, from one of which they scored. Browne, Nypan and Strelic essential changes, but I'd leave Hansen on.
As usual no pace or penetration from our wings
I think Edwards needs to make a change upfront if we are going to get anything out of this. Goals win games, we are not scoring anyway like enough given the money we have splashed out in that area.
CJ during the half-time break:
Interestingly, no Boro subs currently out on the pitch at half-time. As the Pompey subs are, you often see the subs doing a bit of work on the pitch at the interval.
We know Edwards likes a HT sub when he feels things aren't working. Might he be considering one or two here?
That’s three half chances that Morris has had and missed the target by miles
Strelec on for Hansen in the 59th minute.
Brittain booked in the 67th minute, Browne & Nypan on for Ayling & Sène in the 69th.
Make that 4 - he just can't strike a ball
Boro's final ball has been terrible today
Second half we have had a lot more opportunities to cross in the ball and all have been poor and that is being kind
This is such a poor Pompy side and we are making them look good.
Burgzorg & Whittaker on for Targett & HH in the 83rd minute. RE getting desperate?
Finishes 1-0. Had to happen sooner or later, I suppose. 
Yet another poor delivery at the death from Nypan - this has easily been Boro's worst performance of the season - a disjointed mess since the opening ten minutes that never looked like scoring and it was all desperate stuff that lacked any finesse or creativity.
Boro down to seventh in the “last six games table”
Whilst all teams have ups and downs, the big issue now, given how much we have spent on forward players this year, is the lack of goals, chances created, shots on goal, all which are a serious cause for concern.
The bigger issue is whether Edwards and his assistants can come up with an answer. And that is nor looking too hopeful at the present time.
Very poor and disjointed display from the Boro. Main problem- no width and no pace to get us behind the opposition And because of this very little idea of how to break down a defence. Wing backs feeding in balls from deep resulted in their keeper not having to make a single save.Hackney not getting forward enough and Morris completely out of sorts. We never really looked like we were going to get anything out of a game against mediocre opposition. It was the lack of method, simply the hope that something might turn up that was most worrying, with RE's head coach sitting impassively on his bench for the entire match as far as I could see
Well one defeat in nine games should not be of concern but the manner of our first defeat certainly is.
We have seen this type of game and result all too often from Boro teams in the past. We go up against a club well below us in the table, are on a poor run of form and we fail to perform; Pompey are not a good side and we made them look much better than they are.
This looked like a MC team of old rather than the early version of RE’s team.
The team was far too slow in getting the ball forward, in part through AM and HH playing too many square or backward passes; they frequently dwelt on the ball too long and there was a lack of cohesion between the midfield and the the front men.
Free kicks and corners were wasted and despite all of the substitutions/formation changes there was little to be positive about.
Unfortunately my pre match thoughts have come to fruition; I posted before the Stoke game that the next two games could be the most difficult so far this season and so it has turned out to be. I also suggested that a team with top two aspirations should win this one, but but but!
The big question is, is this merely a blip or is it the beginning of a gradual drift down the table and another season of inconsistency?
One hopes not and RE and the team need to shows us that at home to Ipswich next time out. 😎
I did say after my good win prediction that I hoped I wasn't left with egg on my face, well folks I have scrambled, poached, boiled and fried egg on my face after that performance.
It really was dire, just awful from start to finish but I guess we all had seem some concerns creeping in whilst the unbeaten run continued in the previous few games.
Hopefully the international break has come at the right time, if only to get some rest into the squad ( who are not called up ).
Morris, recently called up, has his worst game ever for the club. Hackney was the same in being poor, in fact I cant think of one player ( maybe Fry ) who you could say had a half decent game.
But we move on, first defeat of the season, we have had a cracking ( no egg pun intended ) start to the season, we have to take it on the chin and then back on the bike with a huge game under the lights against Ipswich in a couple of weeks.
Boo! Edward’s out!
Only joking, of course, but let’s not let the negativity in too quickly. We’d all have taken this position before the season started and the coaching staff now have some time to work on improving things.
Sol Brynn - 5
After his man of the match on Tuesday, he will be disappointed with the goal he conceded in this one. The strike went through him too easily.
Luke Ayling - 6
Defensively sound but found himself able to impact the game further up the pitch often and yet his final ball let him down time and again.
Dael Fry - 6
Huge battle at the back with Bishop up top for the hosts. Encouraging to see him get through the full 90 minutes with minimal fuss.
Alfie Jones - 6
Jones battled away and did the defensive work he had to. There was little he could do with the goal Portsmouth scored, with Brynn not having an awful lot else to have to save.
Callum Brittain - 6
Back into the side after his foot injury but unable to influence to game enough, Better in the second half when he got further forward, but was then put back to full-back, halting Boro’s momentum.
Aidan Morris - 5
Full of energy, but lacking an end product. He found himself with two of Boro’s best chances in the game but his finishing left a lot to be desired.
Hayden Hackney - 5
His sloppy pass with no pressure on gifted Portsmouth possession from which they ultimately went and scored from. Then couldn’t find a killer pass at the other end to rectify the error.
Matt Targett - 5
Off day for the Newcastle loanee. Usually so tidy in possession, he was sloppy in this one throughout and failed to deliver a meaningful delivery into the box from open play or set-pieces.
Sontje Hansen - 5
One or two bright moments but it’s clear that he’s still adapting and getting up to speed with team-mates. That connection isn’t quite there, so a lot of his moments are individual ones.
Tommy Conway - 5
No shortage of effort as he regularly found himself switching roles across the forward line. He just couldn’t quite craft the moment or have one fall to him in the right area.
Kaly Sene - 5
Battled well for his side and was strong in his duels with his back to goal. Made a few early clever runs in behind too, but just didn’t quite receive the service he wanted.
Substitutions
David Strelec (for Hansen, 59) - 5 - Unlucky sliding in at the back post with one chance but otherwise unable to get into the game.
Alan Browne (for Ayling, 69) - 6 - Protected the defence sufficiently as Boro pushed more and more bodies forward late on.
Sverre Nypan (for Sene, 69) - 5 - Couldn’t get himself into the game or influence a way through a stubborn Portsmouth defence.
Morgan Whittaker (for Targett, 84) - N/A
Delano Burgzorg (for Hackney, 84) - N/A
Feels like the Carrick days have returned insipid and powder puff up front. 2 points out of 9 and 12 goals in 9 matches not good. Son was at the match and he said "awful" can't really disagree.
The build up is very slow and if teams sit deep we struggle to create anything bar humbug.......
As you’ve all said, that was hugely disappointing. Boro ambled through the first half, evidently playing with very little purpose and creating nothing. Once they’d scored, Pompey had a very easy time of it. They pressed us very successfully and we couldn’t break out, short of playing hopeful long balls into the strong wind.
No doubt after a fully-deserved bollocking from the boss, we came out much more fired up at the start of the second half, and for 10 minutes we looked like a side at the top of the league. In that short period we really took the game to Portsmouth and put them under sustained pressure, which of course begs the obvious question - why oh why didn’t we play like that from the start of the game? Suddenly, we injected the pace that wasn’t there first half. Several crosses came in from the wing-backs and for the first time we got behind their defence once or twice, but of course we didn’t break through Pompey’s resolute and committed defending. Thereafter, that positive momentum dissipated and we only saw occasional flashes of it. The forwards received limited service but also did little with any possession we had. I don’t think the Sène /Hansen combination worked at all, but I do think Hansen was unlucky to be withdrawn as he was probably doing more than his partner. So, for much of the half Boro battered away at the well-marshalled blue wall, but mainly tried to go through it rather than behind or round it, with predictably frustrating results.
The BBC shows we had 1 shot on target all game - it was so memorable I can’t recall it - and their keeper had zero/ zilch/ no shots to save. BBC says we’ve also scored just 12 goals from our 9 games, one more than Derby in 20th place. It’s obvious where the problems lie.
Having said that, there were also a couple of signs this afternoon of the defence being less watertight than it had been: as against Stoke, we offered the opposition two or three chances from which we were lucky not to get punished further. You could put this down to fatigue, I suppose, given the number of injuries we’ve had.
I do agree with Martin that now is not the time to press the panic button. RE clearly has some work to do in the next fortnight, but we’ve still had an amazing start to the season.
@paulinboro I will quite happily watch us score 12 goals in our next nine games if it brings in another 18pts.
RE mentioned pre-game that he needed some time on the grass to improve us up top, hopefully he gets that over the next couple of weeks though that is difficult when your strikers are away on international duty.
Yes it was disappointing today, yes we have taken 2pts from 9 but the previous two games were very tough and I am certainly not going to start throwing the baby out after we sit second with an average two points per game, promotion form.
Just being grumpy, we were always going to lose at sometime, it was such a disappointing performance and we need to work on getting service to our strikers , I would have bitten your hand off before the season if offered 18 points after 9 games
@paulinboro I think we can all be excused for being grumpy after today, it was a rather large letdown in truth, but all teams get them days, let's just hope they are few and far between this season.
Sometimes it can be a timely kick up the butt to remind everybody, including players and staff, pf the hard work still required.
All the best Paul.
We would all have settled for the points total Boro have if given the choice at the start of the season.
The team have a new identity - solid, defends well and concedes few goals.This is the good news. The not so good news is the team don’t create many chances and consequently score few goals.
The teams that do well over the season are consistent in picking up points and winning games but all teams have a couple or so blips where results are not good.
So let’s hope that these last few games are a little blip which Edwards and Co. can soon put right.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍🤔
So in 2025, we have signed, Whittaker (6mil) Sene (3mil?) Hansen (2mil?) Strelec (6mil?)
We also previously signed Conway 3mil) Hamilton (3mil) Burgzorg (1.5mil) and Azaz (2mil, sold for 10mil?)
And then there is Silvera and Gilbert.
That’s a fair bit of cash laid out, for very little return in terms of goals.
Most successful teams also have midfield players who chip in with a few goals and assists. Hackney may yet do that, Morris today showed that he could not even hit a barn door. What will Mypan, Kante and Browne provide.
Lastly of course are the two wing backs who provide the crosses. To date they only showed they have work to do.
One final observation, is that we need a big decent depth squad, because under Edwards system, the players tend to run out of steam.
As an aside and to think we may have made a good decision. VDB has also missed the last three games through injury for Koln.
@pedro valid points, interestingly the profit from Azaz covers the cost of Conway, Burgzorg, Hamilton etc.
It's said we have spent a lot of money up top, which is fair, however, it has been money that has been profited from the sales of others which is a great testament to the work of the recruitment team.
And, yes an off day yesterday for Targett and Brittain but when playing as wing backs they have both generally done well, 3 assists and one goal between them from the twelve we have scored and remained tight at the back, we still have the best defence in the league.
We need to bounce back quickly with a result against Ipswich, which i think we are capable of.
Slightly different problem to Coventry who have won their last three games 12-0, though again with them i would suggest they have had a much easier opening to the season than us, playing Hull, Derby, Oxford, QPR, Sheff Wed but yet we all know, and yesterday proved, no easy games in the championship.
After Targett had brought down one of Pompey’s players near his touchline - only a foul, nothing dirty - he then got absolute dog’s abuse from much of the stand on that side for most of the rest of the game. I thought , ‘Wow. This lot of fans are horrible.’ They reminded me of Stoke. But then I remembered that Matt used to play for Southampton! This absolutely made it clear to me just how much these two clubs hate each other!
I certainly didn’t think Targett played badly. He was sound in defence, as ever, and had a couple of shots on goal, one of which was goal-bound until deflected. His crosses lacked penetration, though, as did everybody’s. Given the abuse he was getting I’m surprised he managed to play as well as he did. The sign of an experienced professional and a good signing.
I think the most disappointing thing about yesterday was the actual performance against a Portsmouth team that were probably one of the least impressive teams we've played this season to make matters worse - though John Mousinho claimed it was a brilliant performance by his team?
What it appeared to me is that Boro were often too slow playing out of defence and passed it among themselves so that Portmouth had time to get into position and set themselves - which basically gave the defence no obvious out ball. This was in contrast to the first ten minutes when Boro played with energy and speed but after failing to make a breakthrough they seemed to lose confidence and resorted to being more ponderous.
What was ironic was it always seemed to be Morris who got himself into the best positions to get a shot on goal but always lacked the composure to make anything of it. One goal from the last three games and just one win from the last five is perhaps a worrying trend after winning the opening 4 games. Boro need to get back to winning ways soon if they are to avoid slipping down the table.
So some work to do in the break for Edwards and his team over the next 10 days but likely the key individual players who need to work on understanding with their teammates will be missing for most of that - plus it's a Friday game against Ipswich after getting back.