Coventry 1 Portsmouth 0: Neil Allen's verdict - More away-day heartache for Blues, but none as brutal as this

Agonising, heart-breaking and gut-wrenching all at once - inflicted by Coventry’s Jamie Paterson’s flying volley in the 94th minute.

The Blues had been undone by late goals in their previous two Championship fixtures on the road, but nowhere near as brutal as this.

Led by a brilliant performance from centre-half pairing Connor Ogilvie and Regan Poole, Mousinho’s men had put up a brilliant second-half defensive display,

As time ticked down and Coventry pressed relentlessly and their supporters screamed at referee Gavin Ward, time and time again they were denied by flying bodies and Blues bravery.

Pure guts and resilience, with the occasional counter-attack providing much-needed relief, there was plenty to admire defensively as they entered the final minute of time added-on.

Then it happened. Jack Rudoni’s cross from the right was met by a spectacular finish by Jamie Paterson and the Coventry Building Society Arena erupted.

Almost to a man, the exhausted Pompey players collapsed to the floor in anguish. A cruel, cruel finale - and there have been plenty of those on their travels this season.

At least rivals Oxford United and Plymouth lost comfortably on the same night, albeit hardly much consolation for Mousinho’s battling troops considering the circumstances.

The statistics now portray 16 defeats in 22 away games this season, they are undeniable facts, impervious to interpretation.

Nonetheless, Pompey to a man put their heart and soul into this Coventry fixture - only to once again finish on the wrong side of fine margins.

Still, little time for mourning, Derby visit Fratton Park on Saturday, yet sometimes players deserve credit, even in defeat. And this was one of those moments.

Mousinho had made two changes from the side which lost 2-1 at Millwall on Saturday, with skipper Matt Ritchie being one of the casualties.

The veteran joined Terry Devlin on the bench, with Adil Aouchiche and Thomas Waddingham called into the starting XI.

It represented Waddingham’s full Blues debut after joining from Brisbane Roar in January, with the Australian starting in attack alongside Colby Bishop, while Aouchiche occupied the right flank.

In terms of the bench, Mark O’Mahony returned following a back spasm, while Alexander Milosevic dropped out of the 20-man squad completely.

Once again there was no place for Kusini Yengi, who is fit following a hamstring injury, yet has now been overlooked for Blues duty for two successive matches.

In the opening minutes, Waddingham did superbly to dispossess defender Bobby Thomas in the final third and drive toward goal.

His way was subsequently blocked, but the ball fell invitingly to Aouchiche, who fired in a low shot from just outside the box, but it was dealt with comfortably by keeper Brad Collins.

Mousinho’s men had a real let-off in the 13th minute when Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s shot struck the raised arms of Andre Dozzell inside his penalty area.

Referee Gavin Ward declined to award a penalty, yet replays showed the visitors were extremely fortunate to escape without punishment and the Sky Blues’ appeals had good grounding.

On 28 minutes, Pompey came agonisingly close to taking the lead when Murphy’s left-wing corner was met by the head of Regan Poole and struck the bar.

It was the closest either side had come to scoring so far, although, at the other end moments later, Thomas wasted a free header by planting it over the bar following a Coventry free-kick.

Approaching half-time, Connor Ogilvie produced a brilliant block to deny Jack Rudoni, with the Coventry midfielder then heading wide when the ball was put back into the box on the follow up.

With the match goalless at the interval, there were no changes for the second half from either team.

However, 10 minutes in, Waddingham and Jordan Williams were replaced by O’Mahony and Devlin as Mousinho attempted to keep his side fresh.

Devlin was entrusted to deal with the dangerous Ephron Mason-Clark and, on 62 minutes, the winger managed to wriggle past him to pull the ball back, but Ogilvie was there with another timely block.

Centre-half partner Poole was also enjoying a fine game and, in quick succession, intervened as the last man with pieces of excellent defending.

Pompey made their third substitution on 73 minutes, when Ritchie was introduced for Aouchiche on the right-hand side of midfield.

The home fans were growing frustrated at the stalemate, although more towards the referee than their own team, as they failed to break down the Blues.

It was dogged stuff from Mousinho’s troops and, on 84 minutes, Isaac Hayden was introduced for Dozzell in a bid to see them safely over the line.

Nicolas Schmid was then called into action when the ball was pumped forward and the keeper bravely punched the ball away from the charging Ellis Simms.

With the game entering stoppage time, the Austrian then got the faintest of touches to a Liam Kitching attempt as it struck the right-hand post.

But, in the 94th minute, Rudoni’s cross was volleyed home by Paterson and it was another miserable away trip for the Blues.