Pompey fell at the first hurdle in the Carabao Cup.
But Kenny Jackett was pleased with the performance from his troops in their extra-time defeat at Cardiff.
They took the lead when Sean Morrison sent the ball into his own net, only for former Fratton loanee Nathaniel Mendez-Laing to level after the interval.
And it was another ex-Pompey player – Greg Halford – who finally grabbed a winner for the Championship side in the 113th minute of the tie.
Jackett, however, was happy with how his side fared against their higher level opponents.
The Blues boss said: “I felt that we gave Cardiff some problems and played good football at times – particularly early in the game.
“We created some decent chances, but they kept at it and eventually got on top of us.
"We blocked, battled and defended our box extremely well."
“There was some short, incisive build-up with our passing and that’s exactly what we’ve been looking for.
“Then we blocked, battled and defended our box extremely well, with some great saves made by our goalkeeper.
“We showed fantastic character and attitude. There are times when you need to defend and hang in there, although you need to aspire to more.
“In the end Cardiff just had a little bit too much for us, particularly when they brought their wide-men off the bench. They needed those big-hitters.
“A big positive from the night was the fact that Brandon Haunstrup and Adam May didn’t do themselves any harm. They should take confidence from their performances.”
Jackett also revealed that Tareiq Holmes-Dennis is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after limping off against Rochdale on Saturday.
He said: “It doesn’t look good at the moment. He has a further meeting on Friday with a specialist, but it seems like a longer-term issue.
“I was happy with Brandon, but you need two specialist left-backs, so we do need someone to come in and compete with him.”