It was certainly not a case of Pompey being outclassed at Valley Parade.
But some poor play at the back meant their play-off hopes were dealt a blow by a 3-1 defeat against Bradford.
Matty Lund and Charlie Wyke sealed victory for the hosts after Brett Pitman had cancelled out Nathaniel Knight-Percival’s opener.
And Jack Whatmough admitted that the standard of defending showcased by the Blues was simply not up to standard.
The centre-back said: “We’ve conceded three disappointing goals. All of them were sloppy and should have been dealt with.
“It was our own mistakes that ultimately cost us and we’re a good enough team not to let them happen.
"All of them were sloppy and should have been dealt with."
“You’d deal with those instances 10 times out of 10 in training, but just we didn’t do it on this occasion.
“We looked strong and did well to get back into the game – we were the better side at the time we equalised, so the second goal deflated us a bit.
“The pitch is what it is and everyone can see that, but you have to overcome and adapt. You can’t use that as an excuse.”
Whatmough knows that Pompey cannot afford to dwell on their disappointment for too long, with a vital match on the horizon.
He said: “We’ve got to dust ourselves down because we play Charlton on Saturday and anything can happen in these final three fixtures.
“It’s a massive game, as are the ones against Bury and Peterborough. There are nine points are there for the taking and we can get them.
“We have to put this result behind us after looking what we did wrong and be ready to go again at the weekend.”