Oh Pompey. You take 10 points from 12, including a win at Accrington with one of your best displays of the season. And then this. A 3-0 home defeat to Newport, which on paper looked the easiest game of the recent run.
It seems like a step forward and a step back for the Blues in their promotion bid - and it's difficult to know whether defeats for second and third-placed Oxford and Plymouth lessen the blow of the loss to the Exiles or make it more frustrating.
Paul Cook's team remain six points off the top three - although after the latest round of games they also have Accrington and Bristol Rovers in between them and the automatic places. They're close, but won't make the top three if they keep producing off-days like this.
Marc McNulty was back in the starting line-up and hopes were high as a bit if spring sunshine came through at Fratton but it was fairly obvious from early on that this was going to be a long afternoon, with neither side able to stamp any sort of control on the match.
After an opening half hour which featured more yellow cards than decent chances, Newport took the lead when Darren Jones got his head on the end of a free-kick routine - a ball that Ryan Fulton ought to have claimed. Pompey felt the keeper had been impeded but the goal stood.
The Blues were close to an equaliser before the break but McNulty could not make the most of Newport keeper Joe Day dropping a cross by Ben Davies.
Michael Smith came on to join McNulty up front for the second half and was close to making it 1-1 from a Kyle Bennett delivery as the hour mark arrived.
But Pompey's task was made all the harder soon after that when Gary Roberts was shown a second yellow for diving - the home crowd were furious and TV replays later were inconclusive as to whether Roberts had been hard done by.
With 20 minutes left it was all but game over as Scott Boden was allowed too much space to head in Medy Elito's cross.
Conor Chaplin replaced McNulty and gave the County backline one or two nervous moments but the home fans were starting to leave by the time Newport rubbed salt into Pompey's wounds with a third, Dean Morgan firing in a cross from six yards.
Afterwards Cook was very honest about his team's shortcomings. He told the Pompey website: 'We thought we’d just turn up and it would happen for us, so I have to apologise to our supporters. Players and staff — we all have to take responsibility for that because we’ve let everyone down.'
Pompey - Fulton; Davies, Burgess, Webster, Stevens; Hollands, Doyle; Evans (Smith 46), Roberts, Bennett (Naismith 61); McNulty (Chaplin 70). Subs not used: Bass, Clarke, Barton, McGurk.
Referee: Ben Toner
Attendance: 16,245 (386 away fans)
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