A chilling awakening at Fratton Park

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ByTom Chappell
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  • Published
Portsmouth's Zak Swanson with his hand over his face during their defeat by QPRImage source, Getty Images

Saturday's bizarre curtain-raiser was indicative of where Portsmouth are as a side right now, unable to turn an impressive half hour into a complete 90-minute performance.

Conceding three goals at home at any point and under any circumstance is really poor, but to do so on the opening weekend after having gone a goal up, in the fashion we did, within 14 minutes of football is unacceptable.

It is a devastating reminder that if you don't convert in moments of fine margins in the Championship, there is a good chance you will be royally punished.

Abu Kamara's second debut had glimpses of real promise, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen's first outing in Pompey blue was very impressive indeed and those, coupled with Terry Devlin's first-half screamer, are about the long and short of the positives from an otherwise pretty turgid afternoon.

What is perhaps most disappointing is that once QPR's third went past Nico Schmid, a handful of half decent second-half chances aside, the scoreline never really looked like changing.

A chilling awakening on a stiflingly hot Fratton afternoon that proved for all the eye-catching transfer activity so far, we are not yet quite as good as I thought we were.