Danny Cowley was not surprised that Pompey were given a tough contest at Morecambe.
They had to battle from behind to claim a point at Mazuma Stadium, with Colby Bishop scrambling the ball into the net.
But Cowley pointed to fixtures elsewhere as an example of how competitive the division is, such as high-flying Plymouth and Ipswich also being held to draws.
He was, however, also unhappy with certain aspects of the performance of his side in the north-west.
The Blues boss said: “It was a tough game, but it’s a tough league – you only have to look at the other results today to see that.
“We’ve had quite a lot go against us, picking up an injury to Tom Lowery at the back-end of the week.
“Then we lost Clark Robertson, who I thought was the best player on the pitch in the first half. I feared the worst and thought it was his Achilles, but it looks like it’s just the ankle.
"It was a tough game, but it’s a tough league – you only have to look at the other results today to see that."
“They scored with their first shot on target again and it felt like we’d just got some rhythm. It came from nowhere.
“I also wasn’t happy with the way we ended the first half, but then came out and played our best football leading up to our goal.
“We found some rhythm and just needed a bit more emotional control at the end when we were trying to win it.
“I didn’t like it at the end because the game got so open and out of control – it became more like a basketball match.
“By that time we’d also lost Zak Swanson to a contact injury and Marlon Pack to fatigue. It’s needs must at the moment because we keep getting these recurring problems.
“We want to win every game, but you also only have to look at the league to see how difficult it is to come to places like this and get results.”
Josh Griffiths made some key stops at the end of each half to ensure that Pompey did not depart with nothing.
Cowley said: “It’s the first time I’ve had to see him make any saves and none of the goals we’ve conceded have been his fault.”