Portsmouth's chances of Championship survival took another hit as Middlesbrough came to Fratton Park and won.
Once again Pompey's lack of creativity was there for all to see as the first half was a scrappy affair with the visitors having the better chances. Ricardo Rocha stood out in particular to deny the opposition clear cut opportunities.
The Portuguese defender put his body on the line to clash with Southampton fan Lukas Jutkiewicz late in the half, with the Boro man getting the "Scummer" chants before being bandaged around the head.
Pompey's best chances of the half came from set-pieces as Marko Futacs blasted the ball inches wide from a free kick whilst Scott Allen went close with his curling effort.
But Boro were on top and had to be denied with a series of well-timed challenges to prevent them taking a lead into the break.
The second half was much more action packed and Allan almost broke the deadlock in the first minute but could only shoot across goal from a tight angle.
But Tony Mowbray's men were awarded a soft penalty soon after when the referee thought that Rocha had brought down Seb Hines in the box. Barry Robson made no mistake in blasting the ball past Stephen Henderson to give his side the lead.
Things soon got worse for the home fans as a soft free kick saw Justin Hoyte whip the ball to the far post, Henderson managed to save Jutkiewicz's header but could do nothing to stop Matthew Bates tapping in the rebound.
With Pompey needing to get back into the game quickly, Michael Appleton introduced Dave Kitson and the returning Luke Varney to the fray.
His side looked more positive and piled on the pressure before the referee awarded Pompey a penalty after it seemed like Jutkiewicz had handled Rocha's shot.
Greg Halford, who had a shot cleared off the line minutes earlier, beat Jason Steele from the spot to give the Fratton faithful some hope as Pompey then attempted to keep up a relentless attack.
Kitson then wasted a glorious chance to equalise as he was teed up in the box but could only fire wide when he should have hit the target.
With time running out, Pompey had to push forward and then paid the price as Boro instigated a quick counter-attack which led to Marvin Emnes sealing victory for the away side.
The game came to a heated end when Rhys Wliiams, brother of former Pompey player Ryan, was sent off for a second bookable offence and then Bates was struck by a coin from an idiot in the Fratton End.
All in all, it was another bad day at the office and although the players gave everything, it wasn't enough to beat a well orgainsed Middlesbrough side who had much more going forward than we did.
More importantly, they won the midfield battle as Hayden Mullins and George Thorne were poor whilst Futacs barely touched the ball. It was a shame because the defence, Rocha in particular, did well to hold them off for so long but we can't keep the ball away from our goal for long enough.
The good point to come from the game was Varney's return. He looked bright and can inject some much needed pace into the team because right now the passing is too slow and there is no penetration.
Pompey are still five points from safety after Saturday's results but with more player departures likely, a lack of creativity in the team and most importantly very little money to continue trading, it's doubtful that Fratton Park will be hosting Championship football next season.
Pompey Player Ratings
Stephen Henderson: 7 - A few very good saves to keep Pompey in it.
Tal Ben-Haim: 6 - Average.
Ricardo Rocha: 8 - Battled like a warrior and had Jutkiewicz in his pocket for most of the game.
Jason Pearce: 6 - Made a few mistakes.
Greg Halford: 6 - Too casual at times.
Joel Ward: 5 - Never really in the game.
Hayden Mullins: 5 - Outbattled.
George Thorne: 5 - Passing was poor.
Scott Allen: 6 - Lively again.
David Norris: 5 - No real impact.
Marko Futacs: 5 - Barely saw the ball and lost it more often than not when he did.
Substitutes
Jamie Ashdown
Adam Webster
Aaron Mokoena
Luke Varney (Thorne 63): 6 - Bright cameo.
Dave Kitson (Futacs 63): 5 - Should have scored but still did more than Futacs in half the time.
Source: FOOTYMAD
