Pompey had more possession and created more chances than Wigan in a League One contest at the DW Stadium.
But those statistics ultimately counted for nothing, as they made the long trip home on the back of a 1-0 defeat.
Callum Lang converted a low delivery from Tom Pearce on 78 minutes to settle the fixture in favour of the Latics.
And after seeing his side’s unbeaten record come to an end, Danny Cowley rued their inability to make the most of that dominance.
The Blues boss said: “It’s disappointing to lose a game that we had complete control of, particularly in the first 70 minutes.
“When you come to a side that have spent as much money as Wigan have and do that, then there are obviously a lot of positives.
“But I just felt we gave the ball away too cheaply – especially in the final third – during the second half.
“Joe Morrell and Shaun Williams gave us real control in the middle of the pitch and the first half was as good as we’ve played this season.
"It’s disappointing to lose a game that we had complete control of, particularly in the first 70 minutes."
“But we need to be much more ruthless when we’re cutting through them at will. Our quality has to be better in those moments.
“When you have that much control, you’ve got to make it count with goals – which we were unable to do.
“We continuously got the ball into the right areas and we lost a cutting edge, while they scored with their first proper shot on target.
“A couple of players perhaps fell off physically towards the end and that’s also something for us to look at.”
Attention now turns to the final few days of the summer transfer window, which closes on Tuesday evening.
Cowley said: “We’re still two or three short of being a team that can compete at the top end of this division.
“I’ve been clear that we need to move some out to bring some in and Callum Johnson has gone out on loan.
“We’re trying to add a creative midfielder and now also need a right-back that can also play at centre-half in an ideal world.
“You’re never quite sure what’s going to happen and you have to be ready to react when something happens.”