West Brom 5 Portsmouth 1: Neil Allen's verdict - Remarkable Blues support steal the show amid another abject away day
The resurrection of the ‘Raggett for England’ chant had absolutely no relevance to depressing matters unfolding on The Hawthorns pitch.
The popular central defender has long gone, of course. These days to be found at Rotherham, although thankfully now out of the treatment room and back with their first-team.
Yet needs must, and, with the travelling Pompey faithful required to conjure up their own entertainment to alleviate the prolonged agony, they dug deep into their repertoire.
The gallows humour and unwavering support was once again prevalent during another away-day battering on Saturday. Remarkably, those 2,492 Blues fans refused to throw in the towel, despite severe provocation from their own hapless team.
Yet still Pompey’s third-largest away following of the campaign refused to be silenced, maintaining a fascinating Smethwick End vocal battle with neighbouring West Brom supporters, themselves understandably in fine voice.
It has now been two months since the Blues last claimed a point on their travels - and not since QPR on October 19 have they managed to secure victory on the road.
Survival hopes are currently being propped up solely by Fratton Park brilliance, with 19 points accrued from a possible 21 since Colby Bishop so dramatically returned to action against Preston.
Visiting fans could have been forgiven for turning back down the M5 after learning of Pompey’s starting XI against the Baggies an hour before kick-off, such was the dreadful inevitability over the outcome.
Yet they dutifully ploughed on through another abject away display, again lighting up a Championship game with their magnificent support and contributing to an excellent Hawthorns atmosphere.
The congested fixture list, plus a crucial home match against Millwall on Tuesday, persuaded Mousinho to drop five of his more influential performers - Josh Murphy, Jordan Williams, Callum Lang, Freddie Potts and Rob Atkinson.
In the case of Wiliams, the Stoke man of the match had only just returned to league action following two-and-a-half months out, with concerns a third start in a week could cause injury.
Atkinson’s absence was an obvious one. Bearing in mind he had made four starts in 12 days after almost two years missing through injury, they must continue to monitor his workload, particularly considering his growing importance.
Then there’s 10-goal Lang, plus second-highest scorer and leading assist-maker Murphy, dropped to the bench to avoid burn-out. Both are irreplaceable and operate in high-energy positions, with Mousinho feeling he had to protect them to prevent injury.
Throw in the classy Potts also and it was obvious Pompey were on a hiding to nothing against a promotion-hunting Baggies side buoyed by the return of popular ex-manager Tony Mowbray for his second home debut.
Without Lang there was Christian Saydee, missing Murphy there was Terry Devlin playing wide on the right. Lose star performers and Mousinho’s squad just cannot cope, summing up his desire to pick and choose matches at present.
We previously saw the humiliating consequences of rotating this current squad at Bristol City and Wycombe. Thankfully the five’s absence is for one match only and they will be back in the side for Tuesday night. Another reason to be cheerful is that Mousinho anticipates a ‘busy’ week ahead in the transfer window.
Nonetheless, not all of Pompey’s fans are particularly enamoured with that reasoning, particularly those huge numbers which shelled out to be at West Brom, with only trips to Leeds and Bristol City attracting more travelling support this season.
Not that you could sense any animosity during the match, as they maintained an excellent backing throughout, even after the fifth goal rained in during a long afternoon.
Pompey’s brittleness and infuriating tendency for capitulation after conceding their first goal has now been evident against Stoke away, Cardiff, Derby, Bristol City, Wycombe, Blackburn and now West Brom. All away from Fratton Park.
Indeed, you could argue the Blues were marginally the better side up until Nicolas Schmid fumbled Alex Mowatt’s shot from outside the box into his own net on 25 minutes.
Within 11 minutes it was 3-0. Firstly Mikey Johnston embarrassed Zak Swanson and Devlin down the flank before his shot was spilled by Schmid, with Grady Diangana gratefully following up into the empty net.
The third saw Andre Dozzell losing out on a tackle in the middle of the pitch, with the Baggies breaking at speed and Diangana sliding in Jed Wallace to score against his former club.
Then, a minute before half-time, following a sustained period of possession and shouts of ‘ole’, Mason Holgate’s long pass picked out Diangana to beat the off-side trap and it was 4-0.
Still the agony continued after the break, with John Swift, another with Pompey connections, crashing a shot into the roof of the net with still 34 minutes remaining.
Cue the introduction of Potts and Thomas Waddingham off the bench, whose impact thankfully made a difference, before they were later joined by Williams, Murphy and Lang.
Indeed, Murphy and Lang were involved in the build-up which saw Australian debutant Waddingham net in stoppage-time at the second attempt after his initial shot had been blocked.
A rare moment of joy at The Hawthorns for the travelling fans, whose passionate rendition of ‘Portsmouth ‘til I die’ continued well after the final whistle.
It’s just a shame their players cannot also manage a 90-minute performance away from Fratton Park.