Dion Donohue made his Pompey comeback in a 4-1 Central League Cup defeat to Bournemouth at Canford Arena.
The midfielder – who has returned to full training following a hamstring injury – played the first 45 minutes of the final group stage encounter.
Adam May was on target for the visitors, who also included Brandon Haunstrup and skipper Danny Rose in their line-up.
The Blues knew beforehand that, whatever the result, they would be unable to qualify for the knockout stages.
But they started brightly and Bradley Lethbridge sent over, before May flashed an effort past the post.
Then, at the other end, Alex Dobre saw his attempt clawed around the post by teenage keeper Leon Pitman.
May soon saw a shot fly narrowly off target, but Pompey were caught out on their next attack, with their opponents breaking quickly and Dobre firing home.
They were not behind for long, however, as Lethbridge immediately cut the ball back for MAY to rifle into the net.
But there was soon an escape, as Jack Simpson rattled the woodwork, with the Cherries now firmly on top.
Only a lunge from Rose then prevented Dobre from getting another shot away following a surging run.
Pitman got down well to deny Marc Pugh and also had to be at his best to keep out Lys Mousset’s attempt.
But the Blues did break forward just before the break, with Aaron Ramsdale forced into action to deal with shots from Dan Smith and Haunstrup in quick succession.
Half Time: Bournemouth 1 Pompey 2
Bournemouth restored their lead straight after the restart, with Diego Rico’s effort diverted in by Kyle Taylor after Pitman had kept out an initial Mousset strike.
Lethbridge was unlucky to see his shot hit the post soon after, while Leon Maloney saw a decent chance pass by after collecting May’s threaded pass and firing over.
But the home side soon began to take control, with Corey Jordan planting a header narrowly wide and NNamadi Ofoborh firing off target.
The Cherries did tighten their grip on the contest when skipper Oforboh fired an unstoppable long-range strike into the top corner.
And they wrapped things up seconds later, with Matt Butcher finding the target from just outside the box.
Their margin of victory might have been even greater, but Matt Casey cleared off the line in the closing stages.
Bournemouth: Ramsdale; Seaman, Jordan (Hobson 81), Simpson, Rico; Ofoborh (c), Butcher; Pugh, Taylor (Boote 81), Dobre (Hamilton 85); Mousset
Sub not used: Kilkenny
Pompey: L.Pitman; Kavanagh (Flint 81), Casey, Hancott (Johnston 81), Haunstrup; May, Rose (c); Maloney (Kelly 85), Smith, Donohue (Read 46); Lethbridge (Bridgman 81)
Referee: Barry Small