Pompey fell to their third straight home defeat in the league after a woeful performance against Swindon Town tonight.
A late flurry of chances from the home side cannot mask how terrible the performance was for the rest of the game and Paolo Di Canio's team will not be gifted an easier three points this season.
Swindon completely dominated the first half and if not for some superb saves from Mikkel Andersen, the scoreline could have been embarrassing as Pompey's passing and general defending was extremely sloppy.
Pompey did have a short spell in the first period, with the best chance falling to Izale McLeod who shot straight at Wes Foderingham, the ball came back to Lee Williamson who took too long to shoot and had his effort blocked.
But the Robins were taking great advantage of the lack of pace between Pompey's latest centre back partnership of debutante Lubor Michalik and the returning Gabor Gyepes, whilst their wingers were making mincemeat of Dumbuya and Harley.
They should have scored when James Collins was one-on-one with Andersen but the Pompey keeper saved his poor effort before becoming the key player of the half.
The Danish stopper had produced a good save to deny Andy Williams a goal from his angled drive, but his save from Collins' close range strike was even better and then he recovered in time to stop Alan Navarro's follow up, which was greeted with warm applause from the home supporters.
Gabor Gyepes then had to clear the ball off the line later in the half but Swindon were not to be denied as the predictable happened when former Pompey youngster Matt Ritchie beat Andersen at his near post right before half-time, but kept his celebrations reserved out of respect for his boyhood club.
The second half was just as bad as the first as Swindon doubled their lead after Williams made easy work of getting past two men and cut inside before firing the ball into the far corner, giving Andersen no chance.
The crowd were restless and broke out the ironic songs such as "We're all going on a League Two tour" and the classic "Always look on the bright side of life" as their team were devoid of any ideas and kept losing the ball in what is now a trademark of Michael Appleton's side.
It was until the last ten minutes when Pompey actually started playing. Brian Howard tested Foderingham with a shot after some good work from McLeod to take the ball past three players. Michalik then headed the ball against the crossbar from the resulting corner.
McLeod then hit the post after Foderingham had saved Ashley Harris' curling shot as Pompey fans wondered where this drive and commitment was for the previous 80 minutes.
Michalik finally did score for Pompey when he headed in Harris' corner in stoppage time but there was no time to find an equaliser and it was another defeat for Pompey.
This defeat has got fans asking serious questions about the manager and his post-match comments are baffling. Appleton says we lost the game because "we weren't clinical enough" but he's "not sure how we came away with nothing" - was he watching a completely different game to the rest of us?
He even says "we passed the ball really well" - even the idiots ironically cheering our completed passes in the second half could see that we were being dominated by the opposition and couldn't keep hold of the ball, so why can't the manager?
I had also taken a friend to their first Pompey match tonight and even they said "Why hasn't the manager made a substitution yet?" - It's glaringly obvious that Appy doesn't react quickly enough to what is going on during the game and his tactics can also be questioned after more aimless long balls today.
It was a very frustrating night and was the lowlight of a bad day for the club as the ownership situation became even more clouded with another chancer in Laurence Bassini bidding for the club. You only have to look at what he did at Watford to realise how bad he'd be for the future.
I wonder just how much worse the whole situation can get. I guess we'll find out on Saturday when Notts County murder us...
Pompey Player Ratings
Mikkel Andersen: 7 - Kept the score respectable but still made a few mistakes.
Mustapha Dumbuya: 5 - Carried the ball forward only to pass it back or sideways. Also struggled with Swindon's wingers.
Gabor Gyepes: 5 - Sloppy and sluggish.
Lubor Michalik: 5 - Scored but very ropey.
Jon Harley: 4 - Barely in the game.
Lee Williamson: 4 - Not the player I expected him to be.
Darel Russell: 5 - Gave the ball away too often.
Brian Howard: 5 - Couldn't influence the game.
Jack Compton: 4 - Couldn't beat a man.
Jordan Obita: 5 - Ineffective for the most part.
Izale McLeod: 6 - Ironically his best showing in a Pompey shirt.
Substitutes
Simon Eastwood
Adam Webster
Josh Thompson
Johnny Ertl
Liam Walker
Ashley Harris (Obita 67): 6 - Got into the game late on.
Luke Rodgers (Compton 78): N/A - Why didn't he start?