Portsmouth boss John Mousinho admitted the Sky Bet League One leaders were below their best after being held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at home by lowly Fleetwood.
Colby Bishop’s penalty goal on his return from injury was not enough to earn Pompey all three points.
A visibly unhappy Mousinho said: “It was totally frustrating today.
“I thought we controlled the game in the first half and just about deserved to go in a goal up.
“We again didn’t have the quality in the final third to put the ball in the net and in the first 20 minutes of the second half we were awful.
“We were on the back foot, the passing was poor, the crossing was abysmal, and we got punished for it.
“We picked up a bit after the equalizer but looked vulnerable when they counter-attacked.
“It’s difficult to put a finger on anything in particular about what was wrong today. Although not an acceptable defence, it was like we were not playing a ‘Bolton’, and just took our foot off the pedal and switched off.
“We’re all better than that, and the players can perform a lot better. We now need to step up a gear on Boxing Day at Bristol Rovers.”
There was very little for the fans to cheer about in the opening 45 minutes, but it was in added time that Pompey took the lead.
They were lethargic from the start with very little imagination against a defensively minded Fleetwood.
Half chances from Abu Kamara, who hit a post in the 40th minute, were the best they could produce.
Then a handball in the box gave Bishop the chance to increase his goal tally for the season to 12, which he did comfortably.
Fleetwood came out with more urgency and unexpectedly equalised in the 61st minute.
A corner caused a scramble in Pompey’s six-yard box, and Josh Earl stabbed the ball home.
Chance after chance went begging for Pompey, but they just could not find the winner.
Fleetwood manager Lee Johnson said: “It was a really charismatic performance from the team. They followed the game plan to perfection really.
“We know how good Pompey are, but we have a lot of strength and athleticism, and put a real shift in.
“We felt there were a lot of poor refereeing decisions out there today.
“It was disappointing to go a goal down right on half-time, but everyone rallied round in the dressing room, and we responded well.
“We’ve got 13 players out, and the academy made eight players available for the squad, so it shows we have depth at the club and can compete on any given day.
“It was good to stem the flow of results we’ve had recently, especially against a team riding the wave at the top, and we could have gone on to win it near the end if we had made the right decision on the ball.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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