It was the same old story for Pompey who looked comfortable until shooting themselves in the foot again, without having the quality needed up front to get back into the game.
David James may have had to tip over Aaron Mokoena's headed deflection but he wasn't called into action again until Nadir Belhadj needlessly kicked Stiliyan Petrov in the box to give away a blatant penalty.
Jamo got close to saving James Milner's penalty but to no avail and although Freddie Piquionne showed the visiting fans that we could get back into the game with a header he should have done better with, it was all but over just minutes after.
Pompey failed to deal with a long ball from Friedel which led to Gabby Agbonlahor turning Ben-Haim and firing past James into the top corner for Villa's second.
I actually think we played better than Villa in the second half as the hosts coasted and we created plenty of chances. Unfortunately the majority of our efforts were meaningless because they didn't test Friedel but I felt that Boateng and Piquionne should have found the back of the net with the opportunities they were presented with.
We couldn't get back into the game for all of our effort and so Pompey's worst ever start to a season was confirmed.
I have to commend the players for their effort, especially during the second half when the game seemed like a lost cause. I also have to commend our fantastic away support who wouldn't stop singing their version of "The Great Escape" in defiance.
And whilst the stats say that we have lost our first six games in the top flight, Leicester City did the same thing in the 1983/84 season and still managed to finish 15th.
We're still only 4 points away from safety with 96 to play for so we have to believe that we can survive. The new crop of players haven't given up on us this far into the season despite these tough times, so we must not give up on them..
However, time may be running out for Paul Hart as fans are continuing to doubt whether he is capable of dragging us out of this mess. There isn't much he could do about Belhadj because until Hreidarsson is fit, we don't have anyone else to play there.
But he could have brought on Kanu earlier. The Nigerian changed the way we went forward and gave us a target man to hit if we wanted to play the long ball. In the short time he was on he had more influence in the game than Tommy Smith did from the start.
Someone needs to work on Ben-Haim too because once upon a time he was a great defender. I'm not sure if he is still settling in but he hasn't looked too good at the moment, unlike Kaboul who has shone so far this season.
The next game at home to Everton is going to be an interesting one with Distin coming back, and it looks like one we simply have to win.
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 7 - A couple of fine saves.
Anthony Vanden Borre: 6 - Seems to be getting better.
Tal Ben Haim: 5 - Costly mistake in an otherwise solid display.
Younes Kaboul: 6 - Our best defender again.
Nadir Belhadj: 6 - Excellent going forward but gave away silly penalty.
Aaron Mokoena: 5 - Didn't inspire once again.
Michael Brown: 6 - Can't fault his commitment.
Jamie O'Hara: 7 - Looks like a very important player already.
Kevin-Prince Boateng: 6 - Showed some promise going forward.
Tommy Smith: 4 - Virtually anonymous.
Frederic Piquionne: 5 - Missed a couple of great chances.
Substitutes
Asmir Begovic
Mike Williamson
Hassan Yebda
Hayden Mullins
John Utaka
Kanu (Smith 76): N/A - Should have had more time to influence the game.
Danny Webber (Piquionne 77): N/A - Again, should have had more time.