Portsmouth had to settle for a draw against Wycombe Wanderers after Johnny Ertl's strike cancelled out Sam Wood's opener.
Like so many of Pompey's games in the last two seasons, this was a match of two halves with the first containing plenty of entertaining and attacking football from both sides but the second half turned scrappy with the quality signficantly lower despite the two goals.
Both sides went on the attack early on with Wycombe winning a corner in the first minute after Danny Rowe's long range strike was deflected wide whilst Alfie Mawson almost diverted Dan Butler's cross into his own net.
Failure to convert crosses from wide positions proved to be the story for Pompey in the first half as Butler and Jed Wallace often squared the ball across goal but there was nobody in the box to convert. Craig Westcarr was guilty of missing two great chances having fired the second one over the bar.
The visitors also had chances of their own with Paul Jones making an excellent save from a deflected strike and then Paul Robinson was well placed to clear the rebound off the line.
There were other chances in such an open half of football but some great last-ditch defending or some poor finishing meant that the score was goalless at the break.
The score didn't remain that way for very long in the second half as some poor defending gifted the Chairboys the lead. Murphy's weak shot found its way to an unmarked Sam Wood who diverted the ball past Jones for the opener.
Wycombe should have doubled their lead soon after as Sido Jombati's pass through the Pompey defence reached Matt McClure but he somehow scooped the ball over the bar from close range with just Jones to beat when it seemed easier to score.
Andy Awford's men responded to the major let off as James Dunne almost equalised when his thunderous drive hit the crossbar and Joe Devera should have done better when attempting to convert a corner from close range but the ball sailed over the bar instead.
Thankfully the equaliser came through an unlikely source as Ertl, on as a substitute at half-time, lashed in Butler's corner. There weren't too many chances for either side to win the match after that as the game descended into a scrap with referee Gary Sutton stopping the match far too often.
A draw as a fair result at the end of play as Wycombe showed themselves to be a good team that will probably challenge towards the top end of the table whilst Pompey failed to convert the many chances they created.
However, never has there been a club (not just the team) that wastes time like Wycombe do. One of their fans was ejected for not giving the ball back with others juggling it around the Milton End.
And even when the scores were level, Paul Hayes really riled the crowd when his name was called to be substituted yet he walked in the other direction, consulted numerous team mates, walked to the Milton End to applaud the travelling supporters and then slowly strolled towards the dugout. He was booked for this blatant gamesmanship and yet still never sped up to leave the field of play.
The funny thing is that, had Wycombe's attitude not been so small-time then they may well have beaten Pompey if they had pressed forward more often. Jack Whatmough struggled and had to be taken off at half-time whilst Paul Robinson also got a yellow card for a late challenge when Wycombe were on the break and on another day that card could easily have been red.
This match simply underlined Pompey's lack of a "fox in the box" poacher who can anticipate crosses coming into the box or can sort their feet out quick enough to get a shot on target before the ball is taken from them. Too many times yesterday the players didn't do anything with the ball quick enough and ended up losing it to Wycombe who broke away and left the defence exposed.
Thankfully, Devera and Robinson were on hand to deal with most of the danger. Devera especially, as he never seems to get the credit he deserves after a slow start to his Pompey career but he and Butler were Pompey's best performers yesterday.
On a final note, does Andy Awford know his best formation? Given that he switched to a 4-4-2 in the second half to try and stop Wycombe playing, a tactic which only worked to a degree, you would think not. He needs to settle on something quickly before more points are dropped, especially at home when more teams are going to waste time and attempt to frustrate the crowd.
Next up is a long trip up to Hartlepool who have had a dire start to the season and leak goals for fun. Perhaps the Portsmouth strikers can find their goalscoring touch there?
Pompey Player Ratings
Paul Jones: 7 - A few important saves.
Alex Wynter: 5 - Still unconvincing.
Joe Devera: 7 - Won some important challenges.
Paul Robinson: 6 - Blocked a shot on the line but also might have been sent off.
Jack Whatmough: 5 - Struggled and was rightly replaced at the break.
Dan Butler: 7 - Got forward well and crossing was excellent. Nicky Shorey won't be getting back into the team any time soon.
Danny Hollands: 6 - His best performance in a while but still want to see more from him.
James Dunne: 6 - Unlucky not to score.
Jed Wallace: 7 - Operated better out wide and always chased a lost cause.
Patrick Agyemang: 6 - Started well but faded.
Craig Westcarr: 5 - Should have buried at least one of the chances he had.
Substitutes
Michael Poke
Adam Webster
Ben Chorley
Johnny Ertl (Whatmough 46): 7 - Quality goal and overall good performance.
Ben Close
Andy Barcham (Westcarr 85): N/A - No late goal this time.
Miles Storey (Agyemang 60): 6 - Would like to see him start a game for a change.