Pompey had to settle for a point against Exeter yesterday in a typical "game of two halves" at St. James' Park.
The first half performance from Andy Awford's men was as if his team still thought it was pre-season. There was no tempo to Pompey's play, the players looked lost and the whole showing was disjointed. That was reflected in the atmosphere at the ground which was surprisingly flat at times for an opening day match.
The home side didn't look like a team beset with off-field issues but were gifted the lead on 27 minutes when a cheap free kick wasn't defended properly and nobody picked up Tom Nichols in the centre of the box who had the easy task of firing the ball past Paul Jones unchallenged.
It wasn't long before the Pompey fans started complaining in the open terrace with Andy Barcham, in the team thanks to Ricky Holmes' injury, becoming the game's "boo boy" for his lack of ball control and constantly giving it away.
That was slightly unfair on the winger, however, as apart from Jack Whatmough whose outstanding individual performance ensured Exeter only scored one and Ryan Taylor who worked hard up front but had nobody with him to flick the ball onto, the rest were poor.
Thankfully, Andy Awford must have said the right words during the break as Pompey were a much better team in the second half with Grecians keeper Christie Pym finally tested by Jed Wallace and Craig Westcarr.
In the Pompey goal Jones also was kept busy as he managed to keep out Liam Sercombe's powerful strike from distance with an acrobatic save.
The game completely changed in Pompey's favour when Nigel Atangana came on for Westcarr on the hour but it was boo-boy Barcham who had the best chance of the match when some confusion in the Exeter defence allowed the winger to rush through on goal but his shot was straight at Pym when he really should have scored.
Pompey were finally level on 72 minutes when Atangan's excellent pass to Wallace on the wing saw him cut inside into the box and angle a drive into the far corner for the equaliser.
Fom then on there was only going to be one winner but unfortunately Pompey's succession of corners came to nothing whilst Wallace blasted a great chance over the bar in stoppage time. In the end they had to settle for a draw which may not be the best result on the face of it but was certainly welcome after a dreadful first half performance.
Awford certainly would have learned plenty about his team following that match if he was the sort of person to draw conclusions from the first of many games of football this season.
The lessons from Exeter would seem to be that Westcarr can't play out wide and Miles Storey is a better option than Andy Barcham as his pace can devastate full backs.
Furthermore, Wallace plays better out wide than in the centre where Atangana shone when he played there. If Pompey are to have any success this season then the partnership of James Dunne and Danny Hollands needs to shine but it didn't really work yesterday with the former sluggish and the latter not really involved in the first half.
But there were some positives to take from the game. It was good to see Pompey try and pay the ball from the back rather than aimlessly hoofing it and with some fine-tuning we could see some attractive football being played at Fratton Park.
Jack Whatmough also continues to raise his profile too. He may have been turned once or twice but he won virtually everything in the air and was always in the correct position to make important challenges. He only turns 18 on Tuesday but he'll be a Premier League regular before he's 21.
As for Pompey, the second half performance yesterday proved that this team can challenge at the top end of the table but they have to shake off the "one half wonders" tag they had all too often last season.
Pompey Player Ratings
Paul Jones: 6 - Lacked communication at times but it got better as the match wore on and he produced a couple of fine saves too.
Adam Webster: 5 - Did well getting forward but hasn't improved his positional sense over the summer and left the defence exposed.
Ben Chorley: 6 - Made one excellent last-ditch tackle but was caught out by Exeter's movement up front too often.
Jack Whatmough: 8 - Pompey would have lost if it wasn't for him.
Nicky Shorey: 6 - Solid and dependable as you'd expect.
James Dunne: 5 - Looked off the pace.
Danny Hollands: 6 - Improved in the second half but expected better.
Jed Wallace: 7 - Ran himself into the ground and scored a good goal but was tired by the end of the game.
Craig Westcarr: 4 - Looked lost out on the wing.
Andy Barcham: 4 - Lost the ball far too often and squandered his big chance.
Ryan Taylor: 7 - Worked hard and linked play with the rest of the team but too often there was nobody in space to benefit.
Substitutes
Michael Poke
Alex Wynter
Paul Robinson
Nick Awford
Nigel Atangana (Westcarr 60): 7 - Looks like he'll step up to league level no problem.
Miles Storey (Barcham 72): N/A - His pace should give defenders plenty of problems but maybe he should have came on earlier?
Ryan Bird (Taylor 88): N/A - Missed a half-chance with a header late on.