Portsmouth 1 Bristol Rovers 1: Neil Allen's verdict - Substitute pair steal the show to dare suggest concerning reliance on Colby Bishop is over

With four minutes of added-time remaining, there was little interest in accepting a point, irrespective of its dramatic circumstances against Bristol Rovers, played out in front of the Fratton End.

Instead the striker headed to the centre circle, clutching the ball and seeking a swift restart, leaving behind his team-mates to their merriment. After all, there was still a match to win.

For once, the party didn’t involve Bishop, the man Pompey so worryingly over-relied on last season for goals.

Rather the dance floor was occupied by young pretenders Christian Saydee and Kusini Yengi, calculated risks recruited to ease the immense burden on the ex-Accrington forward who swept the honours last term.

A left-back and a holding midfielder were the Blues’ joint second-top League One scorers behind the 26-year-old last season, weighing in with five apiece.

Certainly few would anticipate such weighty goal returns from the duo once again in 2023-24, albeit Connor Ogilvie striking the post from long-range late in the second half of Saturday’s curtain-raiser.

With the search overseen by sporting director Rich Hughes, the solution was a Bournemouth player who, 12 months earlier, represented the Blues against the Hawks and Gosport during a whirlwind three-day trial.

In addition, Pompey raided Western Sydney Warriors for an Australian under-23 international embarking on the challenge of his third club in three years.

Not unreasonably, there were doubts among some supporters over the goal-scoring credentials of a pair relatively unproven at League One level, who both fetched undisclosed fees.

Nonetheless, the second-half entrances of Saydee and Yengi proved pivotal in securing an opening-day point – and, as Bishop maintained focus, they fittingly led the jubilations in front of the joyous Fratton End.

Half-time substitute Saydee was indisputably Pompey’s man of the match, although the sponsors disagreed, preferring Joe Morrell to receive the bottle of bubbly and customary tour of the lounges.

As for Yengi, his far-post header from Joe Rafferty’s right-wing cross earned a point for the hosts, capping the team's decent response to falling behind after 23 minutes, without necessarily testing the opposition goalkeeper too often.

Granted, these are early days for the newcomers, instant impacts against Joey Barton’s side which cannot possibly be expected to set the tone for their lives on the south-coast.

However, as debuts go, they were mightily impressive as, for one night only, the irrepressible Bishop was relegated to the role of supporting act.

The introduction of a safety net should certainly be encouraged, particularly following a fitful pre-season for last year’s 24-goal striker, with an ankle issue hampering friendly outings.

The Fratton faithful have long queried the existence of John Mousinho’s Plan B should they lose their talisman through either injury or suspension, not wishing to tempt wretched fate.

Yet, based on 45 minutes against Rovers, at least there appears to be a contingency which could, potentially, maybe, possibly, might just work effectively and productively.

We'll soon discover whether that truly is the case as the season marches on, but, as starts go, it was hugely encouraging from the substitutes whose introduction avoided a losing start to the latest promotion challenge.

Of the 12 summer signings, Mousinho granted debuts in his starting XI to four of them – Will Norris, Regan Poole, Gavin Whyte and Anthony Scully.

Ryley Towler earned the nod to partner Poole in the centre of defence, signalling the sole change to the line-up against Bristol City in the final pre-season friendly the previous weekend.

The player omitted, Conor Shaughnessy, failed to make the 18-man match-day squad, along with Ben Stevenson, Zak Swanson and the injured Paddy Lane.

Meanwhile, the substitutes included newcomers Ryan Schofield, Jack Sparkes, Terry Devlin, Abu Kamara, and, of course, Saydee and Yengi.

Certainly there were few surprises over the make up of the side sent out to represent the Blues on the opening day in front of a 19,165 crowd including owner Michael Eisner and his family.

Disappointingly, however, Pompey had to rely on the cavalry charging off the bench to prevent defeat, as some drowned amid the unseasonal August deluge which descended for much of the occasion.

Firstly, the midfield triumvirate of Marlon Pack, Joe Morrell and Tom Lowery remains unconvincing, particularly in the absence of a conventional attacking midfielder, with that search likely to be concluded in the coming week.

Indeed, it was not until the removal of the injured Lowery at the interval in favour of Saydee when the game’s flow truly changed, with the 21-year-old providing pace, power and directness immediately embraced by an appreciative Fratton faithful.

How such an injection was needed and, with the summer recruit operating closer behind Bishop, the Blues established themselves as the dominant side of the second half, albeit with visiting keeper Matt Cox still tested little.

Another substitute, Abu Kamara, also made a favourable impact and it was his twisting and turning around the box to hold off Josh Grant which initiated the leveller in the 92nd minute.

The Norwich loanee subsequently knocked the ball out wide to right-back Joe Rafferty, who took a touch before delivering the ball to the far post for Yengi to head home and secure a 1-1 draw at the death.

Afterwards, Mousinho labelled it as their best cross of the match and certainly the Blues had been lacking in quality from such areas, Rafferty excepted.

His deliveries were consistently of a higher level than any other member of Pompey’s squad, which, frustratingly, included wing additions Gavin Whyte and Anthony Scully.

Whyte did enjoy a little purple period just after half-time, where he drew a save out of Matt Cox and put in a couple of good balls from the right, yet was on the periphery too often.

While Scully certainly looked busier and was marginally more effective, they remained low-key introductions to the Fratton faithful from two players who much will rely on this term.

Still, with Mousinho’s men trailing to Luke Thomas' 23rd-minute opener, inspiration was required from somewhere – and thankfully it arrived from potentially a new goal hero.