The Blues surrender a lead at Vicarage Road and are forced to settle for a point against Play-Off chasing Watford.
Despite Adrain Segečic giving Portsmouth the lead on 73 minutes, Watford found a reply just six minutes later through Mamadou Doumbia.
The Blues have moved just outside the bottom three into 21st on 29 points, with Blackburn Rovers entering the drop zone after following their 3-1 defeat to Swansea City last night.
There was one change to the XI that defeated Sheffield Wednesday last Saturday.
Ebou Adams came in for Conor Shaughnessy, who was absent from the squad, with Zak Swanson moving to left-back and Connor Ogilvie filling in at centre-half next to Regan Poole.
There was not much between the 2 sides in the first 45, with Millenic Alli posing a threat on the left flank.
Both Conor Chaplin and Ebou Adams had efforts to score their first Blues goals of the season, respectively, but could not quite test Egil Selvik in the Watford net.
Pompey did have a penalty shout when Segečic’s corner appeared to trickle down the hand of a yellow shirt, but despite the protests of Regan Poole, referee Ben Toner dismissed the appeals for handball.
HALF-TIME: Watford 0-0 Portsmouth
Both sides made changes of their own at the interval, with Jordan Williams replacing Zak Swanson at full-back, and Javi Gracia bringing off both Giorgi Chakvetadze and Mattie Pollock, for Doumbia and Kévin Keben.
Watford then made a further change, with Rocco Vata, who bagged an assist and a goal in the reverse fixture at Fratton Park, replacing Othmane Maamma.
The second half started very much like the first; however, the visitors managed to find a breakthrough via the same man who was able to do so against Sheffield Wednesday this past Saturday.
That man was Segečic, who again placed the ball home at the back-post, after Millenic Alli played in Chaplin, who found the Australian attacker to make it 1-0 on 73 minutes.
The Blues’ lead did not last long, though, as Vata’s cross into the area was dropped by Nicolas Schmid, as the ball fell to Luca Kjerrumgaard, and then to Doumbia, who sliced the ball to make it 1-1.
After the goal, Terry Devlin was withdrawn for Jacob Farrell, who made his first league appearance of the season.
Inside the additional eight minutes of added time, Mousinho made two more changes, with Adams and Segečic coming off for Ibane Bowat and Luke Le Roux.
That was then followed by a fifth and final change of the night, with John Swift coming on for Alli, with the Luton loanee not receiving the warmest of receptions from the home crowd.
FULL-TIME: Watford 1-1 Portsmouth
Next up: On Sunday, John Mousinho’s side will embark on their second south coast derby of the season, as they welcome Tonda Eckert’s Southampton to Fratton Park in a 12:00 kick-off.
It will be the first league meeting between the two on Portsea Island since December 2011, when Joel Ward’s equaliser cancelled out Rickie Lambert’s opening goal.
In the reverse fixture back in September, it was a performance that made the over 2,000 Pompey fans at St Mary’s extremely proud, as the Blues came extremely close to winning the bragging rights against, at the time, Will Still’s side.
Watford: 1. Selvik (GK), 2. Ngakia, 6. Pollock (4. Keben), 25. Abankwah (39. Kayembe), 16. Bola, 5. Kyprianou, 10 Louza (C), 7. Ince (66. Irankunda), 42. Maamma (11. Vata), 8. Chakvetadze (20. Doumbia), 9. Kjerrumgaard (Formation: 4-2-3-1)
Unused subs: 12. Baxter (GK), 18. Semedo, 22. Morris, 34. Baah
Goals: Doumbia 79’
Manager: Javi Gracia
Portsmouth: 1. Schmid (GK), 24. Devlin (19. Farrell), 5. Poole, 3. Ogilvie, 22. Swanson (2. Williams), 38. Adams, 21. Dozzell, 36. Chaplin, 27. Alli (8. Swift), 10. Segečic, 9. Bishop (C) (Formation: 4-2-3-1)
Unused subs: 26. Bursik (GK), 16. Le Roux, 17. Bowat, 25. Kirk, 46. Singerr, Agu
Goals: Segečic 73’
Bookings: Dozzell 51’
Head coach: John Mousinho
Referee: Ben Toner
Venue: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 17,577 (including 1,774 Pompey fans)
The post-match analysis with Jake Smith, Kirsty Roxanne and Henry Deacon recorded LIVE on Express FM from Vicarage Road is available to listen back here: Pompey Live: Extra-Time podcast.
Jake will be back with the next instalment of The Football Hour this Friday (January 23rd) evening from 6pm to further analyse this match and look ahead to Sunday's South Coast Debry at Fratton Park.
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