The man who delighted Fratton Park with a last-minute winner on Saturday deflated the home fans tonight with an unfortunate own goal with virtually the last kick of the match against Peterborough United.
In an open game of football, Pompey managed their first shot on target within the first minute or so with Benjani striking the ball straight at Paul Jones.
The visitors responded with a shot on target of their own soon after but somehow Ashdown found Lee Frecklington's shot too hot to handle and let it slip through his grasp. It was a howler which ranks up there with the worst of them as far as goalkeeping errors go.
That wasn't the only "gift goal" of the match as Peterborough handed Pompey the equaliser on a plate when Gabriel Zakuani volleyed Huseklepp's cross past a bewildered Jones.
The 12,000 odd fans who attended the match couldn't complain about the quality of football produced by Portsmouth as there was some neat football and clever passing moves to entertain the crowd.
However, Pompey's defensive organisation had disappeared as a result of the game being so open and the back four were extremely vulnerable every time Posh came forward.
That was telling when some weak defending from Ward saw Peterborough break forward in numbers and some sloppy defending allowed an unmarked Frecklington to lash in his second goal of the game.
The score may have got worse if Darren Ferguson's men could capitalise on two more spills from Ashdown who looked shaky all game with the defence struggling to contain the opposition attack.
Halford did have the chance to equalise with a free kick but his effort sailed high over the bar whilst there were claims for a penalty turned down when Norris looked to have been shoved down in the box.
The game continued to be an open, entertaining affair after the break and Pompey grabbed an equaliser when Benjani scored his first goal for Pompey since his hat-trick against Derby in 2008, although it was difficult to see from the Fratton End with the ground shrouded in fog.
Having levelled the score, Pompey laid siege on Peterborough's goal with Mullins' drive forcing Jones into a great save and a succession of shots blocked or cleared off the line in a move that looked certain to end in a goal.
However, Pompey always looked vulnerable on the counter-attack and received a warning sign of what was to come later in the game when he was allowed a free run at goal but could only shoot into the side netting.
Steve Cotterill brought on Kanu and Marko Futacs (too) late on in an attempt to try and win the game and Pompey won a corner in the last minute of stoppage time and pushed everyone forward.
There would be a huge price to pay for that decision as the ball broke to Ryan Tunnicliffe who had the freedom to run the length of the pitch with the Pompey players struggling to catch him.
He got to the box and squared the ball to another Peterborough player for a tap in but Huseklepp intervened and diverted the ball into the roof of the net in the dying seconds of the match to stun the home crowd and send Pompey to another defeat following such a cruel twist of fate.
Thankfully, the fans showed their support for the Norwegian despite that mistake and I think that we know that defeat in this game wasn't down to his performance.
Steve Cotterill has to shoulder the majority of the blame for this defeat as it dumbfounds me as to how a side known for playing a narrow formation managed to get so much joy down the wings and find so much space in our own half of the pitch.
And to leave nobody back for the last corner of the game against a team who had been dangerous on the counter-attack during the whole match is criminal.
Whilst the football was much better to watch tonight that might well have been because Peterborough are an easy team to play football against because they are always pushing men forward.
We shouldn't have lost to a team who hadn't won on the road all season until tonight and the majority of fans left Fratton Park seriously doubting Cotterill's ability to manage a side that contains international players with Premier League experience.
The debate will rage on during the week about Cotterill's job security and if he should be given the boot after this tactically naive showing. With a trip to Elland Road on the horizon, things aren't looking good for him with only two wins from ten games this season and some awful football played during that time.
Pompey Player Ratings
Jamie Ashdown: 3 - Very shaky showing.
Joel Ward: 4 - Looked lost and weak when challenging for the ball.
Jason Pearce: 5 - Lacked his usual organisation.
Greg Halford: 6 - Made a couple of crucial challenges.
Tal Ben-Haim: 5 - Struggled to contain Boro attack.
David Norris: 4 - Didn't offer anything.
Hayden Mullins: 6 - Linked play well.
Liam Lawrence: 6 - Orchestrated some good moves.
Bjorn-Helge Riise: 5 - Needs a bit of time to settle in.
Erik Huseklepp: 6 - Shouldn't let own goal mar a good showing when he was given the ball.
Benjani: 6 - May have scored but was second best to Zakuani all game.
Substitutes
Stephen Henderson
Ricardo Rocha
Ryan Williams
Kanu (Riise 85): N/A - Should have arrived earlier.
Marko Futacs (Benjani 90): N/A - What was the point, Cotterill?