There were perhaps a few envious glances cast when the Pompey team arrived at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre.
Brighton’s training ground is certainly worthy of its grand name, with a selection of finely-manicured pitches to choose from.
But Pompey did not seem intimidated by their surroundings as they faced their Premier League hosts in a friendly made up of three 25-minute periods.
Brett Pitman claimed the final touch to open the scoring in the last of those after Christian Burgess’ header from an Adam May corner had caused a melee in the box.
And although Anthony Knockaert nodded in a leveller, Joe Gallen was impressed with how the Blues fared.
Pompey’s assistant manager said: “It’s great that we were invited to come here and play because the facilities are fantastic.
“Brighton have obviously done well in the past few years with their stadium and the training ground, and there are a lot of pitches of a really high quality.
"We broke at pace and you always had that feeling we were going to score."
“When you fce a Premier League team it’s always going to be tough, but we acquitted ourselves very well.
“We looked very solid defensively and didn’t concede too many opportunities, while also providing a threat going forward.
“We broke at pace and you always had that feeling we were going to score. There were some flowing moves and a lot of chances.
“Our goal came from a corner, which is an area we’re desperately trying to improve on this season.
“Burge got a good header, with Brett and Conor Chaplin arguing over who got the final touch. I’m not too sure, but I know Brett’s claiming it.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t quite hold on, but it was a decent display overall and a lot of players have done their chances no harm at all.
“We’re ticking along nicely and now we’ll see how we do when we face Utrecht at Fratton Park on Saturday.”