Portsmouth 0 West Brom 3: Neil Allen's verdict - Blues suffer harsh lessons after failing to capitalise

Certainly for the visit of West Brom, Pompey continue to absorb the harsh realities of long unexplored surroundings.

Having disastrously fallen behind after a mere 54 seconds to Josh Maja’s strike, the Blues’ first-half response was admirable and to their immense credit.

Playing on the front foot, they rallied with energy, endeavour and plenty of enthusiasm, putting the visitors under severe pressure as they clung onto their lead.

There were opportunities, there were chances, Christian Saydee couldn’t be shifted off the ball, Callum Lang buzzed around, while debutant Josh Murphy made the wait worthwhile.

Yet crucially none were taken. Mousinho’s men failed to capitalise on their purple patch of possession and consistent goal threat which spanned the vast majority of the opening 45 minutes.

Then arrived another valuable lesson. On 51 minutes, Alex Mowatt curled a classy left-footed finish into the top corner and it was effectively game over.

Heartbreak for the Blues, a crippling body blow considering the heartening calibre of their performance up until that point, particularly having slipped behind so early on.

Yet this is the Championship, levels above where Pompey have existed in the previous 12 years, and it is brutal. Take your openings - or suffer the consequences.

West Brom top the Championship, they reached the play-off semi-finals last season, they shouldn’t be offered the chance to wriggle free when under pressure.

When Mowatt added his second in time added-on from a wonderful free-kick to make it 3-0, the scoreline was unquestionably harsh, cruel even.

In front of watching chairman Michael Eisner and son Eric in the 20,205 crowd, a first-half which offered so much encouragement concluded with a second league defeat of the campaign.

At least there was the entrance of Murphy and the 76th-minute return to action of Regan Poole to provide a slice of optimism for the long, hard season ahead.

There was a rendition of the Pompey Chimes after the final whistle as those remaining supporters applauded their team off, recognising the effort they had put in for little reward.

Yet there are plenty more lessons to be learned - and no doubt some more heartbreaking results to stomach along the way.

The Blues had named Tom McIntrye in a side for the first time since February following a torrid time with injury.

He replaced Ryley Towler in the centre of defence to partner Jordan Williams as one three changes to the team which faced Sunderland a fortnight earlier.

There was also a debut for Murphy, having recovered from an ankle injury sustained in pre-season against MK Dons, while Paddy Lane was recalled, with Matt Ritchie, Towler and Sammy Silvera dropping to the bench.

Poole also returned to the squad for the first time since November after recovering from an ACL injury, although fellow substitute Kusini Yengi collected an injury in the warm-up and had to be replaced on the bench by Elias Sorensen.

The Blues found themselves within 54 seconds of the match kicking out as West Brom netted in front of their travelling fans in the Milton End.

Following a Baggies throw-in, Tom Fellows pulled the ball back from the byline and Maja crashed a first-time finish high into the net to make it 1-0.

To their credit, the Blues responded positively and on 12 minutes Zak Swanson looked to have had decent calls for a penalty as Torbjorn Heggem slipped and ended up also tripping Zak Swanson.

No spot kick was forthcoming and moments later Connor Ogilvie produced an excellent cross from the left which Callum Lang should really have converted, but failed to make contact.

Then Lang pounced on West Brom’s short goal kick, only to see his resulting shot take a deflection and fly agonisingly wide.

Unfortunately Pompey couldn’t capitalise on that purple patch,nonetheless it was extremely encouraging for the home faithful in attempts to draw level.

It took a brilliant save from Will Norris to prevent the Blues falling further behind on 34 minutes when a long throw from the right was met with a Maja far-post header.

It appeared goal-bound, but somehow Norris superbly clawed it away, with replays showing it was incredibly close to the whole ball crossing the line.

Still Pompey pushed for the equaliser, causing the visitors all sorts of problems as they finished an encouraging half strongly, albeit 1-0 down.

There were no changes after the break, yet on 51 minutes the Baggies ruthlessly doubled their advantage.

Mowatt exchanged passes with John Swift before curling a classy left-footed effort into the top corner, giving Norris no chance.

Murphy responded with a shot from 20-yard just past the far post, which would be his last action of the game, before coming off in a triple substitution on 61 minutes.

Lane and Dozzell also came off, with Harvey Blair, Sammy Silvera and Abdoulaye Kamara introduced from the bench.

In the 67th minute, former Pompey player Jed Wallace made his Fratton Park return after nine-and-a-half years away after coming on as part of a triple Baggies substitution.

However, the 3-0 scoreline was complete in stoppage-time when Pack was adjudged to have committed a foul and Mowatt stepped up to brilliantly curl it around the wall.

Certainly Championship life doesn’t get any easier - it’s off to Burnley next weekend with the Blues still searching for their first win of the season.