A first league start, defensive awareness and a poor streak continuing - the key talking points from Portsmouth's 1-1 draw with Cheltenham as ex-Charlton Athletic and attacker recovers point

The Blues entered the clash searching for back-to-back victories for the first time since August, after edging past Bolton Wanderers four days ago.

However, their desire for consecutive successes came up short, as Danny Cowley’s side fought from a goal down to claim a point - but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

The hosts dominated large parts of the match, but were let down by their toothless frontline as clearcut chances were few and far between.

Perhaps a break from league football for at least 10 days will do the club the world of good. After an underwhelming night in PO4, these were the key talking points.

Thompson’s first league start

Louis Thompson made his first league start of the season yesterday and the former Norwich midfielder was arguably Pompey’s best performer throughout.

Up until last night, the Fratton faithful had only seen glimpses of his quality across cameo League One appearances and spells in the Papa John’s Trophy. However, it was abundantly clear as to why Cowley pushed for his signature in the summer, with a combative and composed display produced.

On numerous occasions, Thompson would regain possession in his own half and immediately look to go on the offensive. This was perfectly reflected midway through the first half when he expertly stole the ball inside the centre circle then drove towards the box, evading a number of challenges in the process, before the chance fizzled out.

What was perhaps more pleasing was that his positivity seemingly radiated into his colleagues. Joe Morrell often looked to either find his central midfield partner or switch the play to marauding full-backs as the Blues looked to gain a stronghold on proceedings.

With his athleticism, turn of pace and strength on and off the ball, there’s an argument to say that Thompson could be playing at a higher level had he not been plagued with injuries throughout his career.

Hackett centre-stage

It was a night of mixed emotions for Reeco Hackett as he found himself at the centre of the match’s more eventful moments.

First of all, he was at fault for the visitors’ opener when his limp flick in attempting to clear the ball fell to Lewis Freestone – who made the most of his error to fire home the opener.

However, the attacker wasn’t downhearted following his mistake and grew in prominence as the match unfolded. The 23-year-old, of course, equalised for the hosts, but showed great composure in doing so.

He may have been tempted to blast the ball goalwards but kept cool to smartly drill the ball into the ground, enabling it to loop into an empty net.

What was perhaps the most impressive aspect of his game last night was his positioning and work rate, in and out of possession. When the Robins were on the offensive, he often dropped deep to create a midfield three with Thompson and Morrell, but when Pompey looked to breakaway he would drive further forward and play behind John Marquis.

It’s no secret that Cowley demands maximum aggression and work rate in defensive scenarios, so it comes as no surprise that Hackett has been a consistent feature in the team in recent weeks.

Poor streak continues

Pompey’s inability to take all three points last night sees an unwanted record continue as, so far this term. The Blues have failed to gain victory from a losing position.

The Fratton Park outfit have fallen behind in nine League One matches, drawn three and lost six. It highlights a key issue for Cowley that his side continually struggle to alter the outcomes of matches when facing adversity.

And the hosts would have felt that they missed an opportunity to change this last night, but ultimately didn’t do enough in front of goal to warrant three points.

Ronan Curtis had arguably the best chance to snatch victory when he fired over from 18-yards late-on - but their chance creation woes showed no signs of stopping against the Robins.

Following Clark Robertson’s injury back in September, the squad’s leadership has come into question as second-half capitulations and an inability to turn the tide when losing has been a common theme throughout performances since.

However, figures such as Sean Raggett have explained how guidance on the field isn’t an issue, but a loss of confidence is behind the worrying repetitions.

Teams such as Fleetwood Town and Shrewsbury have gained more points from falling behind - a damning indictment of their current situation.