Portsmouth 1 Bristol Rovers 1: Neil Allen's verdict - Substitute pair steal the show to dare suggest concerning reliance on Colby Bishop is over

With four minutes of added-time remaining, there was little interest in accepting a point, irrespective of its dramatic circumstances against Bristol Rovers, played out in front of the Fratton End.

Instead the striker headed to the centre circle, clutching the ball and seeking a swift restart, leaving behind his team-mates to their merriment. After all, there was still a match to win.

For once, the party didn’t involve Bishop, the man Pompey so worryingly over-relied on last season for goals.

Rather the dance floor was occupied by young pretenders Christian Saydee and Kusini Yengi, calculated risks recruited to ease the immense burden on the ex-Accrington forward who swept the honours last term.

A left-back and a holding midfielder were the Blues’ joint second-top League One scorers behind the 26-year-old last season, weighing in with five apiece.

Certainly few would anticipate such weighty goal returns from the duo once again in 2023-24, albeit Connor Ogilvie striking the post from long-range late in the second half of Saturday’s curtain-raiser.

With the search overseen by sporting director Rich Hughes, the solution was a Bournemouth player who, 12 months earlier, represented the Blues against the Hawks and Gosport during a whirlwind three-day trial.

In addition, Pompey raided Western Sydney Warriors for an Australian under-23 international embarking on the challenge of his third club in three years.

Not unreasonably, there were doubts among some supporters over the goal-scoring credentials of a pair relatively unproven at League One level, who both fetched undisclosed fees.

Nonetheless, the second-half entrances of Saydee and Yengi proved pivotal in securing an opening-day point – and, as Bishop maintained focus, they fittingly led the jubilations in front of the joyous Fratton End.

Half-time substitute Saydee was indisputably Pompey’s man of the match, although the sponsors disagreed, preferring Joe Morrell to receive the bottle of bubbly and customary tour of the lounges.

As for Yengi, his far-post header from Joe Rafferty’s right-wing cross earned a point for the hosts, capping the team's decent response to falling behind after 23 minutes, without necessarily testing the opposition goalkeeper too often.

Granted, these are early days for the newcomers, instant impacts against Joey Barton’s side which cannot possibly be expected to set the tone for their lives on the south-coast.

However, as debuts go, they were mightily impressive as, for one night only, the irrepressible Bishop was relegated to the role of supporting act.