Pompey continued their winning start to pre-season by beating neighbours Havant & Waterlooville at Westleigh Park.
But Kenny Jackett expected more from his players following a laboured performance in the south coast sunshine.
A Gareth Evans penalty opened the scoring, with Roarie Deacon levelling for the Hawks before substitute Brett Pitman struck to secure a 2-1 victory.
Jackett was pleased with the result, but wants to see some improved displays over the coming weeks.
The Blues boss said: "It's always a good thing to win, but I don't think we flowed enough and I was expecting us to step it up at the start of the second half.
"We didn't really do that and actually fell away slightly, not able to get going in the final third of the pitch.
"It's always a good thing to win, but I don't think we flowed enough."
"We couldn't unlock their defence and struggled to get away from their defenders to get shots in, which was obviously frustrating.
"You can mention conditions, although I think things like that are just excuses. We've got an honest bunch and there's no lack of preparation.
"It's early days and people are still finding their feet. I understand that, but we do need to raise the bar and produce better performances."
Jamal Lowe was not at the game despite originally being named in the side, with Jackett clearing up the confusion.
He said: "I gave Jamal and Ross McCrorie the weekend off after the busy week that we had in Ireland.
"There have been no further bids for Jamal, but with so much talk and speculation, I felt that was the right thing to do.
"It was a decision that was made the previous day and unfortunately we made a mistake when giving the teamsheet to the home club.
"James Bolton has a groin injury which will keep him out for one or two weeks. It's the one frustrating thing to come out of the UCD game."