This crushing defeat has killed any optimism the Pompey fans had after the encouraging draw against Ipswich due to a performance that saw our team miss a whole load of chances and gift the opposition cheap goals.
The first goal came after Andy Dorman got the better of Joel Ward (the first of many occasions) and squared the ball to James Vaughan who smashed the ball past Ashdown. This was after Pompey had got away with a goalmouth scramble which ended with the Pompey 'keeper smothering the ball on the line.
We had barely created a chance and yet were gifted an equaliser that will be on the next DVD collection of football blunders. Julian Speroni came rushing out of his goal only for Anthony Gardner to head the ball over him, leaving Dave Kitson the simply job of tapping the ball into an empty net.
Palace came back at Pompey with a series of long shots from outside the box that got gradually closer to the target, with Ashdown at full stretch to save Owen Garvan's effort.
Kieron Djilali also hit the post with his curling effort and to be honest, Pompey were fortunate to go in at half-time on level terms.
However, the visitors started the second half well with Nugent having a goal disallowed and then spooning another decent chance over the bar. Pompey fans were soon to discover that the "being punished for not taking your chances" rule doesn't just apply to the Premier League.
A long ball caught out the Pompey defence and despite the cries of "offside" coming from Dickinson and co. Vaughan was able to lob Ashdown who had hesitated to come out of his area to deal with the threat.
Ashdown was lobbed by Vaughan again as the home debutant celebrated his hat-trick. Less blame can be piled on the Pompey 'keeper this time, as the defence was nowhere to be seen.
The humiliation was complete when Brown touched Neil Danns in the box and the midfielder slotted in the resulting penalty. Pompey were still to create chances despite the hammering at the other end of the pitch, as Nugent and Lawrence came close and Kanu had blocked a goalbound shot from his own team-mate going from going in.
Steve Cotterill can make excuses by complaining about the poor performance of both referees (Peter Walton was replaced with Mick Russell) and their assistants, but the bottom line is that it's his job to organise the defence that look all-at-sea when playing away from home.
Before Saturday's game against Sheffield United, he needs to work on the communication between the back four and their positioning too, especially Joel Ward who was constantly caught out at right back.
He also needs to get the two Dave's in for extra shooting practice. Kitson needs to sharpen up whilst Nugent continues to squander good chances.
I don't actually believe our performance was as terrible as the scoreline suggests but mistakes will be punished at this level and time is running out to iron them out.
Hopefully Cotterill can resolve Pompey's problems before the trip to Bramall Lane, otherwise it will be another defeat on the road that will confirm that this season will be a huge struggle to survive.
Pompey Player Ratings
Jamie Ashdown: 5 - Must shoulder some of the blame for Palace's second, and some will point the finger for their third too.
Joel Ward: 4 - Naive performance saw him constantly ran ragged and often out of position, but he'll learn from this experience.
Ibrahima Sonko: 5 - Another poor performance.
Ricardo Rocha: 5 - Needs to improve communication with Sonko.
Carl Dickinson: 7 - Best performance for Pompey so far having won nearly every tackle.
Liam Lawrence: 5 - A couple of good passes but couldn't influence the game.
Hayden Mullins: 6 - Steady performance.
Michael Brown: 5 - Didn't notice him until he gave away what seemed a soft penalty.
David Nugent: 5 - Squandered more opportunities.
Kanu: 5 - Bright start again but faded and should have been replaced earlier.
Dave Kitson: 6 - Easy first goal for Pompey but had a couple of other opportunities go begging.
Substitutes
Darryl Flahavan
Matt Ritchie
Richard Hughes
John Utaka (Kanu 75): N/A - Not given enough time to make an impact.
Nadir Ciftci