It looked like being a frustrating afternoon for Pompey – and Brett Pitman in particular.
Scoring from the spot is normally guaranteed when the striker is standing over the ball, but he hit the post from 12 yards against Bolton.
Just seven minutes later, however, and Pitman rose in the box to expertly guide home James Bolton’s cross and secure the three points.
The result comes off the back of a poor run of form for the Blues and now he wants to see them flourish.
Pitman said: “We’ve struggled a little bit for results in recent weeks, so it’s obviously a really big win for us.
“You have to give credit to Bolton for the way they performed the first half and I think the wind made it really difficult as well.
"My record for Pompey is pretty good – I think it’s only the second I’ve missed – but you do feel like you owe the fans something."
“Everything we played forward just seemed to run out of play, but we were a lot better after the break.
“If you take penalties you’re going to miss some of them. It was disappointing to hit the post, but then pleasing to score the winner.
“My record for Pompey is pretty good – I think it’s only the second I’ve missed – but you do feel like you owe the fans something.
“Fortunately, Bolts has then sent in a great cross and I’ve managed to put away the header at the back post.
“If we want to achieve our aims then we need to go on a run sooner rather than later, so we need to build some momentum and confidence.”
Bolton have been on the end of several routs this term, but brought in a host of new players after exiting administration.
And their new-look side arrived at Fratton Park on the back of successive draws against Oxford and Sunderland.
Pitman said: “I know they’ve had some heavier defeats earlier in the season, but you look through the spine of the team now and there are Championship players.
“They’re certainly no mugs and I don’t think the team they put out at Fratton Park will get many tonkings.”