Fulham 3 - Pompey 1
Some Pompey fans had deserted long before, the stomach understandably not able to take any more.
Others were wearily making their way towards exits, shell-shocked at their team's latest outing.
Then came the gentle nudge to those Blues followers still present, just in case anyone needed reminding.
Within minutes of the final whistle, Queen's epic Another One Bites The Dust was pumped through the Craven Cottage Tannoy system.
It seems someone at Fulham has a ghoulish sense of humour.
Perhaps it was a nod of acknowledgement in the direction of Tony Adams, coming under increasing fire by the defeat.
Then again, it could easily have been referring to the ebbing away of another match for Pompey to save their Premier League future.
Either way, on Saturday any lingering question marks over whether Pompey were in a relegation battle were replaced by full stops.
No doubt about it, the Blues have 15 games to remain in the top flight of English football.
Most likely, Adams has considerably less to retain his position as boss.
Not that he has any intention of quitting the club which currently stands a worrying one point off the relegation zone.
Publicly, the smile is still painted on, the positivity oozes out of every pore, the wisecracks in the face of serious questions still gush.
But the fact remains Pompey have won a mere two of his 15 league games in charge – Sunderland and Blackburn.
Undoubtedly relegation form – and now the league table is reflecting that deep, deep concern.
Never has Adams' job been more precarious. More to the point, not since the Great Escape have Pompey been closer to the drop zone.
These are dark times at Fratton Park at present and not even Adams' unwavering smile can bring sunshine.
True, those visiting supporters on Saturday witnessed another swashbuckling second-half display from their side.
They still lost, though.
In fact, such was the extent of Pompey's dominance for the majority of that period, the home followers had resorted to jeering their own players out of frustration.
Despite a one-goal advantage, Fulham's fans' frustrations extended to sarcastically cheering the substitution of Bobby Zamora on 63 minutes.
Then again, it would prove to be the turning point as a certain Erik Nevland entered the field instead.
Still, for a good 26 minutes of the second half Pompey pummelled the hosts, the impressive entrance of David Nugent galvanising Adams' lacklustre troops.
He should have had a penalty, Peter Crouch was brilliantly thwarted by John Pantsil following another Nugent pass and still the pressure continued.
Then the Blues' own defence intervened and it was game, set and match Fulham.
Shambolic defending has become the legacy of the Adams era, the fulcrum to the majority of defeats and precious points dropped.
How Pompey are counting the costs of those slip-ups, lack of concentration and downright atrocious play.
You only need to glance at the league table to see that.
As for Adams, it is looking increasingly likely his inability to be able to rid the side of the problem could ultimately cost him his job.
Earlier, it was stand-in skipper Sylvain Distin who was responsible for Roy Hodgson's side's 14th-minute opener.
When the eye-catching Clint Dempsey prodded the ball through, Distin unsuccessfully attempted to play the off-side trap, allowing Andrew Johnson the freedom to finish past David James.
Behind so early in the match, the Blues still only managed to create one chance to level of any note, Younes Kaboul heading Jermaine Pennant's corner against the bar.
As for Fulham, only the intervention of James prevented Johnson from increasing his side's lead having once again beaten the trap.
As has become the case in recent times, Pompey's performance moved up several gears in the second half, this time heavily influenced by Nugent.
The one-time England man hadn't appeared in the league since netting his first-ever top-flight goal against Spurs, albeit from the right wing.
But, replacing the highly ineffective Kanu, he was the catalyst for a far superior second-half display as Adams' men rallied valiantly.
So impressive was Nugent's display, his manager later promised to give him a run-out in his favoured position in attack.
It remains to be seen how long the choice remains within Adams' power considering the way results are continuing to disappoint.
Still, with Nugent partnering Crouch, the visitors were suddenly bubbling with energy and enthusiasm and looking highly capable of levelling.
The substitute should even have been awarded a penalty on 50 minutes when he latched on to Crouch's flick, only to be nudged over by Pantsil.
Quite how Alan Wiley missed the incident is anyone's guess, Fulham's defender not even within sight of the ball as he committed his crime.
As luck would have it, the same man popped up shortly afterwards to produce a magnificent block tackle on Crouch as he burst clean through on goal.
Invariably it had been Nugent who had set up Pompey's top goalscorer.
Then came the decisive moment, the sucker punch which all but ended Pompey's hopes of a point, heaping more pressure on Adams in the process.
On 71 minutes, Simon Davies clipped over a deep ball and, with Kaboul ignoring Nevland, the Norwegian bore down unchallenged on goal to make it 2-0.
Barely nine minutes later, he was allowed to swivel and finish inside the box, Glen Johnson not close enough to make a challenge.
There was still time for Nugent to head home Pennant's free-kick from the right to give more realism to the scoreline.
But it didn't detract from what was another demoralising defeat, the 10th of Adams' 21 games in charge.
Incidentally, that's precisely the same amount of matches Alain Perrin had at Pompey's helm – and we all know what happened to him.
Time is running only for Adams to start getting the positive results to match his positive thinking.
Otherwise he, too, could bite the dust.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Sunday 12 February 2012
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