The key factors behind Portsmouth’s dismal performance against Charlton and 3-0 thrashing at The Valley

With the contest played in front of the Sky Sports cameras, the Blues would have been keen to show off their promotion credentials and pick up their first league win in four outings/

However, it was anything but the perfect night for Danny Cowley’s men as they shipped three goals, saw Marlon Pack sent off and witnessed Michael Jacobs hobble off with a hamstring injury.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg according to head of sport at The News Mark McMahon on the latest edition of the Pompey Talk podcast.

On a night where the Blues could do no right, McMahon suggested why it went so wrong and highlighted a number of key areas that let Pompey down.

Here’s what he had to say on the podcast.

‘Despite Charlton’s good record at home, I actually fancied the Blues.

‘I thought they would rock up and stamp their authority on that game and show they’re promotion contenders.

‘I thought they started off okay and I was quite pleased that Colby Bishop’s header had to be tipped over by Joe Wollacott. I thought that was a sign of intent and that they were going to exploit Charlton’s weaknesses.

‘But after that it slowly started to unravel.

‘I think gaps started to appear and the gaps between the midfield and defence were quite big. Charlton really exploited that quite well.

‘I didn’t think Connor Ogilvie, who’s better on the left but still played well against Corey Blackett-Taylor, got an awful lot of protection either from Owen Dale and I think a lot of Charlton’s threat came down the flanks.

‘That was one area where Pompey needed to be better and I did think Dale could’ve done more to help Ogilvie.

‘I don’t think the midfield had enough control of the game. I’m a big fan of Marlon Pack and he’s been fantastic since he’s returned to Pompey, but a bit like at Ipswich, I felt he didn’t have his best game and resulted in him being sent off.

‘Can there be any arguments about being sent off? I don't think there can.

‘They were two bookable offences. Yes, Charlton didn’t help his cause by surrounding the referee, but it was a late challenge and a silly challenge for a guy of Pack’s experience.

‘Him and Joe Morrell – I’m still not won over by them together. You look at their experience and look at how good they are individually, but I just don’t know if it’s the right midfield partnership for Pompey.

‘Last night I thought they were too wide open and were very poor, but I was delighted with Jay Mingi. I thought he came on and showed what a good player he is.

‘Yes he’s raw. Yes, he’s inexperienced and you might not want to throw him in from the start, but Pompey have got a really good asset there and need to make him the dynamic midfielder that they can trust on a week-by-week basis.

‘I also think Pompey were sloppy with their passing, it wasn’t crisp enough.

‘There were so many opportunities where the Blues had a ball on and could’ve spread the play and posed an attacking threat and they didn’t take it. That was the case on countless occasions.

‘Josh Koroma’s was the one that was really costly because Charlton went up the other end and scored.

‘But on so many occasions the ball was on and Pompey weren't able to execute it, which was really disappointing.

‘I thought Charlton had an extra spring in their step,too, they were picking up the second balls and it seemed as if Pompey were a bit flat-footed. They weren’t able to win back possession as quickly as they could.

‘Overall, they were very sluggish in their decision making with the ball and off the ball.

‘The defending was a real issue. Michael Morrison has to do better in that situation, even Sean Raggett could’ve done more because it appeared he even dipped away from the ball.

‘The third goal is a set-piece, irrespective of them being down to 10 men, they have to mark the players they come up against.

‘Eoghan O’Connell had a free header from six-yards out and there was no way he was going to miss. But he should not be given that space in the penalty area and that goal should’ve been avoided.

‘It wasn’t a good night for Pompey at all from after the first 10 minutes until the end.

‘They were in front of the Sky Sports cameras and you wanted them to do well, to show their metal and show that they are proper promotion contenders. To me they fell very short of doing that.’