Jamal Lowe believes Pompey’s Checkatrade Trophy defeat to Chelsea under-21s was a missed opportunity.
The Blues dominated for much of the third round contest at Fratton Park, but were beaten 2-1 to exit the competition.
Charly Musonda netted a free-kick right at the death after the same player’s opener had been cancelled out by Brett Pitman in stoppage-time.
And with a Wembley final now out of the equation, Lowe was frustrated that Pompey could not make the most of their chances.
The winger said: “We dominated possession, chances and got into double figures for corners, but we couldn’t win the game.
“To equalise so late and still end up losing was especially disappointing for us because we were thinking about penalties or even grabbing a winner.
"If you get out-played then maybe you hold your hands up, but that wasn’t the case here."
“We’re never happy with losing – regardless of what competition we’re in. It was a situation where we should have won.
“If you get out-played then maybe you hold your hands up, but that wasn’t the case here and we failed to get the right outcome.
“Chelsea were comfortable on the ball and perhaps took more risks than you would normally see in a league game.
“But everyone wants to play at Wembley and we’ve thrown away a good opportunity to do that this season.”
Lowe had to play in an unfamiliar right-back role for most of the second half after Nathan Thompson limped off injured.
He said: “I was having some success before the break, so hopefully Nathan will be alright and not be out for very long.
“It’s not something I’ve really done before, but whatever will be, will be. It’s a new challenge and if I have to continue there then I’ll embrace it.
“Defending is something I’ve had to work on because I don’t want to let the side down and I think it’s improved.”