Morecambe 1 Portsmouth 1: Jordan Cross’ verdict as players go missing and storm clouds gather in Blues Twilight Zone to leave faithful 'embarrassed'

In the same way listening to a Derek Adams post-match interview sucks the life force out of you, a trek to this unheralded corner of Lancashire has an eerily consistent habit of draining the Blues battery.

For nine years and six fixtures now, feeling the bracing Irish Sea breeze come in from Morecambe Bay has been the cue for things to mysteriously go awry for this football club.

Good players go bad. Leaders lose their way. Confident talents see conviction ebb from their game in the north west Twilight Zone.

The Mazuma Stadium, of course, is a venue which had put paid to Fratton managerial careers and seen play-off ambitions extinguished. Heck, even keepers rock up and score 90th-minute goals to deny Pompey victory in their very own Bermuda Triangle.

So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the 1,057 hardy souls who braved the longest trip of the season, were let down by members of the team they backed in such unstinting fashion.

The call was ‘that was embarrassing’ from two sides of Morecambe’s home at the interval, after their team had reacted to falling behind by wilting.

They weren’t wrong.

Unfortunately, there’s no escaping from Pompey’s shortcomings, no hiding from the ugly truth on this occasion.

It’s Danny Cowley’s lot, of course, to back his players rather than hanging them out to dry. That’s entirely understandable.

But all the Blues boss’ words of ‘collective responsibility’ for coming up short in the 1-1 draw with a side entrenched in the relegation zone, individuals fell below the standards expected of them.

And the net result was Pompey going from a place of reasonable first-half control against the Shrimps, to almost being counted out in Tyson Fury’s hometown. All within the space of nine minutes.

Cowley’s foundering troops, to their credit, found a way back after the restart - but then managed to let their foothold crumble.

And for all of the Morecambe manager’s trademark agitating and comical talk of being worthy of a ‘landslide victory’ by ‘five or six goals’, it was his side who could feel short-changed from the point and deserving of more.

The sight of Marlon Pack’s name on the team-sheet was one to gladden Pompey hearts an hour before kick-off.

The key man was one of three changes with Owen Dale and Dane Scarlett back after their unavailability at Hereford.

Of more concern was Tom Lowery’s absence a week on from his return after a seven weeks out with a hamstring injury, which has caused significantly more of a problem than anyone had anticipated. More on that later.

There was a decent fizz and tempo to Pompey’s play in a busy opening, as Cowley once again opted to start with a diamond midfield. A wayward pass or poor execution was the reason for nothing tangible being created for the early possession.

The Derek Adams touchline sideshow was in full effect once again, though, as Pompey’s old friend took exception to a collision between Caleb Watts and Connor Ogilvie by letting his feelings be known to the officials and a nearby water bottle.

Pack’s blotted his copybook with an uncharacteristic loose touch which led to him getting the game’s first booking, as he attempted to atone by catching Anthony O’Connor 20 yards out. For all his reassuring presence, it was a precursor for what was to be a frustrating return for Pompey’s leader.

It was his side who fashioned the more promising early openings, however, with Dale the closest to gaining a tangible regards as Connor Ripley superbly touched his 23rd-minute goalbound drive over.

They were to rue not getting their final execution right nine minutes before the break, however.

Adam Mayor was the recipient of a through ball down the right with Connor Ogilvie labouring. The left-back then stood off with Liam Shaw picked out, who was scandalously afforded the freedom of the Pompey box to fire home.

From having a strong position in the game Cowley’s men were all of a sudden rocking, as that old trait of not responding well to adversity once again reared its head.

It took Josh Griffiths, the man some say doesn’t make saves, to produce the first of three world-class stops to keep his team in it.

The first from Watts in the last action of the half he had no right to make and stopped his side from being buried. In the second half, further efforts from Dylan Connolly and Jensen Weir preserved a point.

In between, Pompey had wrested control with a period of sustained pressure producing a deserved leveller.

Pack’s header was cleared off the line after a cross from lively half-time sub Denver Hume in the 67th minute. The combined determination of Zak Swanson to keep the ball alive and Colby Bishop to sniff out a goal saw the ball home, however.

The expectancy was for Cowley’s men to seize the initiative against an opponent who have improved on home soil against play-off contenders of late, but still have just a single league success to their name this season on their own patch.

Pompey allowed the game to become stretched, however. When leaders needed to step up, they were absent. When attacking talent was required to come to the fore, it melted away into the Lancaster night.

And these are patterns becoming increasingly familiar amid a run of one league win in eight.

The Josh Koroma who buzzed on his August arrival has gone missing, of late. Owen Dale had early moments but worryingly faded.

For a player of Ryan Tunnicliffe’s experience to go AWOL from the middle of the park was unacceptable. Pack deserves every accolade for his form this season, but the ring rust was evident from nearly a month out in his showing.

Elsewhere, a dependable servant in Connor Ogilvie was off the pace, with it taking the honest endeavour of a teenager in Dane Scarlett to set the standard along with the excellent Griffiths.

It all led to Cowley’s mood darkening in the final reckoning, but, in his mind, it’s an enemy within hastening a descent towards the play-off abyss.

The most observant members of the Fratton faithful would’ve noticed the thinly-veiled criticisms over Pompey’s injury list in recent weeks. In his post-match comments, they became explicit.

‘We consistently are getting recurring injuries and they will kill us - they will stop us achieving what we want to achieve unless we rectify it,’ Cowley fumed, with specific reference to Lowery’s low-level hamstring injury again seeing him sidelined.

The storm clouds aren't going anywhere on that subject, which provided a postscript firmly in keeping with a typical Pompey afternoon in Morecambe.