Angry Burton boss Jake Buxton left looking for answers after Portsmouth defeat

And with the Brewers manager taking particular umbrage at his players’ vulnerability from set-pieces, he promised to ‘get to the bottom of it’.

Before the game, the hosts had the unwelcome tag of having the joint-worst defensive record in the division.

That statistic looked to be heading elsewhere as Burton went into the break at the Pirelli Stadium 2-1 up, after goals from Lucas Akins and a Tom Naylor own goal cancelled out Marcus Harness’ second-minute opener.

SEE ALSO: Jackett adamant much-needed Pompey win will breed confidence

But despite facing a Blues side who had League One’s joint-worst attacking record before a ball was kicked, their defensive frailties were exposed as Kenny Jackett’s troops responded with three unanswered goals in a pulsating second half.

Harness was again at the centre of the visitors’ best attacks, scoring either side of a rare Jack Whatmough strike.

Two of those efforts came from corner-kicks – and that’s something that irked Buxton at the final whistle, with the Brewers working on set-pieces in the build up to the game.

Buxton told Burton’s website: ‘We have looked vulnerable from set plays for a while now.

‘We walk through them on a Friday, look to do the work but we need more emphasis on the demand for each player to stop his man scoring, stop him getting a clean header. At the minute we have a weak underbelly.

‘Enough is enough and I’m really annoyed with the set plays and we will be making people accountable for that and myself and the staff will be making sure we will get to the bottom of it.’

Buxton, whose side have now conceded 12 goals in four League One outings this season, also admitted he was well aware of Harness’ quality before kick-off.

He was a team-mate of the 24-year-old during his time at the Pirelli Stadium.

But Buxton said the game plan to contain the former Brewers forward went out the window after Harness’ second goal on 47 minutes.

He added: ‘First half we limited the space he got into and although he had flashes, we had bodies in and around him.

‘In the second half the pockets got bigger, especially as we went chasing the game and he can hurt you and caused us problems.

‘But if we are compact, don’t concede that second goal, do our jobs at set plays then Portsmouth would have continued to smash the ball long and we should deal with it. But that didn’t happen, and we paid the price.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The News has launched a new subscription offer which gives you unlimited access to all of our Pompey coverage.

You can subscribe here to get the latest updates from Fratton Park, transfer news and expert analysis from our team of Pompey writers.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism on your behalf for our city.