'It was a disappointed dressing room': Joe Morrell on why Portsmouth players weren't celebrating Plymouth point

Substitute Reeco Hackett headed home Morrell’s cross from the right to ensure a pulsating contest with Plymouth ended in a 2-2 draw.

Before his intervention, the Blues appeared to be heading for a first Fratton Park defeat since January and their maiden league loss of this campaign overall.

As it was, the late point keeps Danny Cowley’s men in second spot, following leaders Ipswich’s late draw.

But Morrell revealed there was ‘frustration’ among his team-mates afterwards rather than celebrations.

He told The News: ‘We deserved a point and obviously had control for large parts of the game.

‘It’s a frustrated dressing room, regardless of whether we’ve scored the last-minute equaliser or not.

‘We probably did fall below our standards in spells, which will be at very high standards now.

‘Especially as this did feel like a derby game, this is all we’ve got for now, it’s what we’ve got to make do with.

‘So it’s a disappointed dressing room, there’s no mistake about it – and that’s definitely a positive.

‘You would be worried if you were going into the dressing room afterwards and the lads were high fiving and you had the music on. We have high standards and fell below that.

‘Of course we are still unbeaten, which is a positive, but we know we’re going to have to play better if we want to be at the top of the division.’

Loanee Josh Koroma’s goal on his full debut handed the Blues a first-half lead,

However, they were pegged back by two goals in five minutes, through Sean Raggett’s own goal and substitute Niall Ennis.

And Morrell believes Pompey’s second-half approach almost cost them.

He added: ‘It was a bit of basketball, maybe we want to have a little more control in games and maybe not be as chaotic as it was.

‘But with the players we have at the top end of the pitch, you’re always looking to go forward and always looking to be attacking, that’s in our nature.

‘With the pace, the power and quality, we’re looking to score when we get the ball and sometimes that’s to our detriment.

‘It’s only through good intentions, we are trying to score every time we get the ball, and I think that is a positive.

‘But there’s a time and a place – and maybe in the second half we got sucked into that a bit.’