Boss pleased with Pompey's desire in Chesterfield defeat
Guy Whittingham was full of praise following a gutsy Pompey performance that contained plenty of heart.
The Blues came so close to beating the odds and claiming a point against high-flying Chesterfield.
Their job was made much harder when David Connolly was sent off late in the first half.
But Pompey looked more likely to score in the second half before substitutes Armand Gnanduillet and Tendayi Darikwa both struck for the visitors late on.
And Whittingham was pleased with the way his troops fought for every ball.
The Blues boss said: “It’s tough to take because the players have given absolutely everything – I couldn’t ask for anything more from them.
“They’ve battled hard and even created chances in the second half against a very good Chesterfield side who will be there or thereabouts.
“I thought we had a goal when Sonny Bradley went through – I’m not sure how we didn’t score from that opening.
“John Sullivan didn’t have too much chance with the first goal and then we changed shape and left ourselves a bit open.”
The game’s big talking point came when Connolly was denied a penalty and then, seconds later, clashed with Sam Hird to draw a red card from referee Steve Bratt.
Whittingham said: “Even the Chesterfield manager said it was a stonewall penalty when David was taken out in the first half.
“There was another incident earlier on when David was tripped in the area and he’s frustrated.
“I didn’t see the incident and it wasn’t on the DVD we saw after the game, but what he did was wrong.
“David’s apologised and said he was out of order, but he was still wound up from the earlier decision.”