There was not a hint of Christmas cheer in the air at Fratton Park, unless you were an AFC Wimbledon fan.

At least the visitors from south London had an enjoyable afternoon - far more than can be said for the majority in one of the biggest home crowds of recent seasons.

This wasn't just poor from Pompey - it was absymal. They didn't look at it from the start, and after going two down inside 16 minutes - for the seocnd home game in a row - they rarely looked like making a game of it.

Any hope they did have of staging a comeback disappeared when Dan Butler was shown a second yellow for a rash challenge.

Ex-Fratton loan player Frankie Sutherland gave Wimbledon a spectacular lead in the ninth minute, curling home a right-footed effort from well outside the box after the Blues defence had been slow to close him down.

It got worse seven minutes later when Pompey lost possession by the halfway line. Barry Fuller's quick free-kick saw the defence caught out for a second time and Matt Tubbs - reportedly a Blues target but surely one who'll give Fratton a wide berth after this - ran into the box to fire a low shot past Paul Jones.

Things didn't get any better as the rain fell on an increasingly-frustrated and depressed crowd. Many of them had gone long before the referee brought proceedings to an end.

No-one expects Pompey to win every week in this dog-eat-dog division but these are the sort of games they need to do the business in if they're to mount any sort of challenge for promotion in the second half of the season.

Never mind, fourth-placed Luton away on Sunday...

Follow @Pompey_Fans

Click here to sign up for an account and reserve your username! You can then post on the Forum and add your comments to articles

Photo: Action Images

Portsmouth Polls