Pompey Academy were held to a goalless draw by Swindon in their latest Youth Alliance League contest at Copnor Road.
Neither side were able to carve out many clear-cut opportunities and the result saw the Blues overtaken by Bournemouth at the summit.
Professional development phase coach Liam Daish said: “It was a difficult game off the back of a tough night at Erith in the FA Youth Cup earlier in the week.
“Swindon are doing well in the league themselves and so it was a challenge to see how we’d perform – especially with Harry Jewitt-White and Harvey Hughes away on first team duty.
“We brought in several players from the under-16s and started fairly well, but were just lacking a bit of cutting edge in the final third.
“It was better from us in the second half and our passing was a lot stronger, while the clean sheet was a big positive.
“We looked very organised defensively and limited our opponents to very few openings, although Toby Steward (pictured) pulled off a very good double save.
“The fact that he had very little else to do was a credit to our discipline, which we carried right through the game.
“It was very much a 0-0 match, with few chances at either end, but it was still an extremely competitive contest.
“I would have liked to see us come away with all three points, but overall I’m happy with the way in which we applied ourselves.
“With matches in the league and FA Youth Cup, as well as the Papa John’s Trophy and Hampshire Cup, games are coming thick and fast at the moment.
“There will be a lot of playing on Saturday and Tuesday, something our young perhaps probably aren’t as used to.
“But it will help build their robustness and resilience, giving them another taste of life as professional players.”
Pompey: Steward; Setters, J.Fox (Dockerill 44), Kaba, Bridgman; Howell, Payce, Simpson; Fish (Laidlaw 76), Gifford, Aston