New signings/re-signings Dave Kitson, Ricardo Rocha, Liam Lawrence and Kanu all went straight into the side and all of them had an instant impact on the side.
Rocha added extra quality to the defence and perhaps its no coincidence that Pompey kept their first clean sheet of the season, though contributions from an improving Ibrahima Sonko and an assured Joel Ward certainly helped.
I'm still not sold on Dickinson though. His first touch was poor and on another day he could have been sent off for a series of rash challenges.
Kanu added a creativity to the team that hasn't been seen so far this season. Kanu was brilliant in the first 20 minutes or so, with his tricks and through balls posing plenty of problems for the Ipswich defence. Unfortunately, he faded in the second half and was eventually replaced by Ciftci.
The ex-Stoke duo of Dave Kitson and Liam Lawrence also made their mark on the game. The former missed a good chance but gave everything by willing to pressure and tackle the opposition whenever he could. Lawrence can take a good set-piece and his passing was also pretty good.
As for the match itself, it was a fairly even contest with goal-line clearances from both sides and with both goalkeepers forced into some decent saves with Marton Fulop's fingertip save from Nugent's second half effort that looked destined for the top corner the pick of the bunch.
Nugent had a bright game out in a wide position, having had another shot crash off the crossbar in the first half. Mullins and Brown, on for the injured Mokoena who had to be stretchered off, also missed good chances to score when it seemed easier to miss.
The bulk of Ipswich's chances came late on, with Ward clearing a goalbound shot and both David Norris and Grant Leadbitter striking the woodwork with their efforts.
The draw means we're still bottom of the league as Leicester also drew, but there were plenty of postives to take from this performance against a fairly decent team. For starters, we actually looked like a team today!
I feel we still need a few players before we become a team that can push themselves to mid-table security, but it seems like the shoots of recovery are finally starting to show.
Pompey Player Ratings
Jamie Ashdown: 7 - A couple of decent saves to preserve a point for Pompey.
Joel Ward: 7 - Doesn't look out of place in the Championship.
Ricardo Rocha: 7 - A couple of mistakes due to rust but a quality showing overall.
Ibrahima Sonko: 6 - Improving, but still not convincing.
Carl Dickinson: 5 - Would have been sent off on another day.
Aaron Mokoena: 6 - Did OK in midfield until nasty injury.
Hayden Mullins: 8 - Looked much better in midfield and kept the game ticking.
Liam Lawrence: 7 - Fairly good debut - quality on the ball is obvious to see.
Kanu: 6 - Started brilliantly but faded as the game went on.
David Nugent: 7 - Busy performance and unlucky not to score.
Dave Kitson: 6 - Gave 100% but missed a good chance with a header early on.
Substitutes
Darryl Flahavan
Richard Hughes
Matt Ritchie
Michael Brown (Mokoena 50): 6 - Should have started despite missing great chance.
John Utaka (Kitson 83): N/A - Almost broke free from an Ipswich defender, but touch let him down.
Nadir Ciftci (Kanu 67): 5 - Tries to do too much himself.