Pompey controlled possession, forced a couple of good saves and were awarded a penalty.
But they were still unable to find a goal against Crewe and had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Gresty Road.
Will Jaaskelainen did well to deny both Jack Whatmough and Ronan Curtis, while the keeper also kept out John Marquis’ spot-kick.
And while Danny Cowley was pleased with many aspects of the performance, he knows his side can still improve.
The Blues boss said: “The overriding emotion is frustration because we’ve probably done enough to win the game.
“We had good control of the match, but lacked some cutting edge in the final third and there’s some work we need to continue to do.
“I liked a lot of we did tactically and we’re developing as a group in that sense and we always want positivity and relentless energy.
"The overriding emotion is frustration because we’ve probably done enough to win the game."
“That’s what we stand for and it’s what we’re working towards, but there were good performances from us.
“I thought Callum Johnson was excellent, while Charlie Daniels gave us real quality coming in and Jack Whatmough was flawless.
“Tom Naylor drove us on constantly and covered every blade of grass, with Ben Close handling the ball well.
“We created good chances in the second half and certainly had a full head of steam, while we obviously missed a penalty.
“That’s the life of a number nine and I thought John was excellent leading the line. It’s really good to have him back.
“We’ll take the second clean sheet away from home and will look to keep building ahead of a great game at MK Dons.”
The schedule has been relentless during this shortened season, but Cowley does not want to make excuses.
He said: “There are thousands of Pompey fans who would give their right arm to do what we do, so I won’t patronise them by talking about tiredness.”