It was an all-too-familiar 'after the lord mayor's show' tale for Pompey as Stevenage brought them back down to earth with a bump by winning 2-0 at Fratton Park.

An 'incident' in the dressing room at half-time led to Christian Burgess and Michael Doyle being substituted and Pompey were never able to build on a bright start as their work fizzled out and the visitors took advantage.

The Blues started the afternoon unchanged from the line-up that was so impressive in winning at Luton in midweek, but after reaching half-time goalless, with their early dominance having rather petered out, they had a surprising look about them for the second half.

Jack Whatmough and Amine Linganzi were on for Burgess and Doyle and most would have assumed the pair had both taken knocks, but Paul Cook admitted afterwards there had been an 'incident' that led to the pair being taken off. He did not go into detail.

Pompey still had the better of the play but were undone by two sucker punches just after the 70 minute mark.

Steven Schumacher put them ahead on 71 minutes with a low shot after an attack down the right ended with the ball being cut back to him in space 12 yards out.

Matt Godden's shot four minutes later looked like it should have been saved by David Forde but it squeezed underneath him and went in to leave Fratton stunned.

Michael Smith's third goal in three games 10 minutes from time, from a Gareth Evans cross, gave the Blues hope of saving the game but they created precious few more chances for an equaliser.

And so it's the same old story - a fine couple of results on the road not being built on at home. Pompey now have a two-week break to lift themselves before their next game, at Grimsby.

Maybe in the light of what went on at half-time, a breather is what Pompey need.

Pompey: Pompey (4-2-3-1): Forde; Evans, Burgess (Whatmough 46), Clarke, Stevens; Rose, Doyle (c) (Linganzi 46); Baker, Roberts, Bennett (Chaplin 68); Smith. Subs not used: O’Brien, Naismith, Lalkovic, Hunt

Referee: Ben Toner

Attendance: 15,987 (277 away fans)

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