Joe Morrell felt Pompey didn't deserve to lose at Wigan - and says the defeat will harden their resolve when the league campaign resumes at MK Dons in a fortnight.

The Wales midfielder was unable to help Danny Cowley's team salvage anything from the trip to DW Stadium, settled by Callum Lang's 78th minute goal.

He told the Pompey website afterwards: 'It was very frustrating and we’ve lost to a team who scored with their first real shot on our goal. So we have to find the right balance between being critical of ourselves and also working hard to be better.

'You can’t be too down because this is a tough league and you’re always going to lose a game at some point. It’s just disappointing because the manner of the way we’ve lost this one, but I’m sure we’ll come back stronger when we go to MK Dons.

'Possession won’t necessarily win you games, but we felt like we were in control — especially in the first half. We lost that a bit after the break and were giving the ball away too easily, which left us stretched at times.

'In the end — and on the balance of play — we didn’t deserve to lose, although I’m sure there will be times when we win games that we don’t deserve to. It’s about taking the result on the chin and making sure that we still move forward with a lot of positivity.'

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