The comical Portsmouth free-kick against Bolton that had Reeco Hackett reaching for Twitter to join in with the mickey-taking

The Blues forward tweeted after the final whistle at Fratton Park: ‘Best training ground free kick of the year?’ alongside a laughing and an ironic observation emoji as he too saw the funny side of the failed set-piece routine that left many inside Fratton Park bemused.

The baffling incident happened late in the game and, thankfully, with the Blues ahead following John Marquis’ fourth goal of the season in the 51st-minute.

Standing over the ball to the left of the Bolton penalty box, around 25-yards out, was Hackett, Marquis and Ronan Curtis.

The former Bromley man shaped up to take the dead-ball, only to run over it.

He was then followed by Curtis, who also faked up to shoot before gently rolling the ball back for Marquis to hit.

However, the striker appeared to be taken by surprise by both his team-mates’ actions and, looking panicked, he lofted the ball to the back post, where the Bolton defence cleared the danger with ease.

At the time, many fans inside the ground immediately jumped on Twitter to mock what they had just witnessed.

And it seems a bashful Hackett knew exactly the mickey-taking that would be coming as he quickly referenced the incident in a self-deprecating social media post.

Thankfully, the mix-up didn’t have a negative impact on the outcome of the game, as the Blues ran out winners to record their first win in four league outings.

And that meant supporters on social media were able to poke further fun at Hackett & Co when the giant forward addressed the issue on Twitter after the game.

A laughing @GavH_ joked ‘I could see you lot have practiced that routine!’

@JHancock46 commented: ‘It was unorthodox to say the least’.

@DJKirby14 said: ‘I’d love to know who’s idea it was?’

Meanwhile, @ChrisOverthrow wrote: ‘Don't want him to tell us just incase they try it again but also I so badly want to know.’

Acknowledging the win – a victory which sees the Blues move up to 13th in the League One table – Hackett added: ‘Great performance from the lads today back to winning ways’.