Hillier and Taylor on target against Copsewood
Pompey Ladies had to fight from two goals down to avoid a shock defeat at home to Copsewood.
It still felt like a case of two points dropped against the Premier League Southern Division strugglers.
But the Blues actually moved level on points with Cardiff at the top of the table after the Welsh side were thrashed 5-0 at fellow title contenders Brighton.
Pompey were left with a mountain to climb when they fell two goals behind with just seven minutes on the clock.
Nicola Foskett took advantage of poor defending and twice showed some cool finishing to net for Copsewood.
The hosts reduced the deficit before interval, though, with Gemma Hillier collecting Molly Clark’s pass and firing home.
And they secured a share of the spoils late on when a corner was whipped into the box and Tiff Taylor pounced to equalise.
Blues boss Perry Northeast said: “It just goes to show that you can’t afford to gift any side a two-goal start in this division.
“Our defending at the start was extremely sloppy and their striker punished us with some clinical finishing.
“After about 20 minutes, though, we started to play like our normal selves and managed to get something from the game.
“It was disappointing that we couldn’t get all three points because that’s what we were after – there were a few chances that wouldn’t quite fall our way.
“Luckily for us Cardiff lost, so we’re now joint top, but it’s frustrating to know that we could have been two points clear.
“Now we have to focus on facing Plymouth this weekend. We’ll work hard in training to make sure there’s an improvement and that we collect the result we need.”
Pompey: Blakely; Frampton, Rutherford, Taylor, Bazan; Kempson, Sievwright (Dark 58), Clark; Quinn, Hillier, Wilson
Photo: Matt Underwood
Photo: Matt Underwood