It would surely have been a contender for goal of the season.
Adam May unleashed a shot from long-range that clipped the inside of the post, only to bounce out again.
Opening his Pompey account would have capped a fine performance from the midfielder, who was recalled for the suspended Nathan Thompson.
But playing his part in a 2-1 victory at Fleetwood was enough reward for the Blues academy graduate.
May said: “I was already starting to celebrate! I took a touch to get the ball out from my feet and just thought why not?
"I’d love to score my first goal – especially in style like that."
“From my angle it looked like it was going in – and on another day it would have. But the important thing is that we got the three points.
“I’d love to score my first goal – especially in style like that. The result is all that matters, though, and now we move on to face Blackpool.
“It’s a very good win for us – just what we needed after a couple of defeats. We made a great start and managed to maintain that into the second half, getting another goal to give us a bit of a cushion.
“But then they got one back and that changed the game. We were on the back foot for a while, but managed to grind out a result.
“That’s the thing about football – one chance can change everything. It looked at one time that we might get three or four, although we defended really well.
“The final whistle was a relief at the end – there’s no better feeling when it results in you getting three points.”
May looked assured alongside Ben Close in midfield as part of a youthful Pompey side at Highbury Stadium.
He said: “We used to play together in the academy team, so we’ve got a good understanding. We’re still young, but we’ve ended up on the winning side.
“When you’ve got a connection you can bounce off each other. We both like to pass the ball and we both work hard. I thought we both did well.”