There have not been many reasons for Pompey fans to feel glum upon leaving a game during the first half of the season.
But there were certainly a few furrowed brows after witnessing a 5-2 defeat to AFC Wimbledon at Fratton Park in the last 32 of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
The hosts – who made nine changes – were punished by their League Two opponents for some sloppy play, with goals from Kusini Yengi and Gavin Whyte doing little to lift the mood.
It does mean that Pompey now have only their promotion quest to focus on, but John Mousinho did not want to cling to that silver lining.
The Blues boss said: “There was plenty that went wrong for us and we gave the ball away for the first two goals.
“Then the third came from a set-piece and we just weren’t at it at all – we didn’t react well enough to going behind.
"I thought prior to the game – and I still think now – that we had the squad capable of being able to compete."
“There was a good spell from us after getting back to 4-2, but that aside, it certainly wasn’t a pleasing display.
“The focus is on the league and we’ve had a lot of away games recently, so we didn’t want to risk anything and rested as many players as possible.
“But we didn’t see it as a negative to go through and I don’t want to lie and say this is a massive positive.
“I thought prior to the game – and I still think now – that we had the squad capable of being able to compete.”
Anthony Scully came on at half-time to make his first appearance in almost four months after recovering from a knee injury, although there was no return for midfielder Tom Lowery.
Mousinho said: “It’s nothing major. We just wanted to protect Tom because he felt his calf in training on Friday.
“But seeing Sculls back out there was a real positive after such a long lay-off. It will take time to get his match sharpness back and that’s a big part of it.”