Boss pleased with performance at Morecambe
Richie Barker has made Pompey much harder to beat in recent works.
Now the Blues boss will turn his attention to changing draws into victories following a third successive stalemate.
Jake Jervis had twice put the visitors ahead at Morecambe, only for their opponents to twice hit back and equalise.
Barker was pleased with plenty of what he saw – especially his players putting a training ground move into practice.
Although it was an error from Trevor Carson – who had earlier saved a penalty – that ultimately denied Pompey a three-point haul.
Barker said: “I thought there were some real positives, especially considering the conditions.
“We felt Morecambe were vulnerable in 2v1 situations down the side and it’s something we’ve been working on for the last few days.
“We scored from two low crosses into the box and we should have scored a third – so credit to the players for taking that information on board.
“Jake can’t get too carried away because he’s scored two goals from about three yards combined! But they’ve still got to be scored and his work ethic was fantastic.
“The manner of the last goal was disappointing. If the striker hits that shot another 100 times then the chances are Trevor saves it.
“It was a day of contrasts for him because he also kept us in the game with the penalty save in the first half.”
A rain-lashed Globe Arena surface did not look a pretty sight upon arrival at the ground, but Barker was pleased the match was played.
He said: “Fair play to the groundsman for getting the game on. The conditions were terrible throughout, with the pitch half the issue and the wind the other half.
“It wasn’t really a football match so it’s a testimony to the players out there who tried to make it into one.
“The ball was getting stuck in mud and the wind was blowing passes backwards. But bearing in mind we’d been on the road since 9am the previous morning, we’re pleased the game went ahead.
“It was a fantastic effort from our supporters. One or two must have woken up and wondered if they would give it a go because of the weather, so we appreciate their support and I’m glad for them that there was no postponement.”