By Martin Rowe
Portsmouth slipped to the bottom of League One table despite a battling draw against Carlisle United at the weekend.
They were able to field a seven-man bench for this match despite recent off the field matters continuing to worsen.
But it was Carlisle who started the brighter with better passing play and creativity.
And Jon-Paul McGovern nearly gave them the lead when his 25-yard free kick hit both the goalkeeper Simon Eastwood and the post before somehow staying out of the net.
Eastwood then denied Liam Noble with a wonderful reflex save just after half time with the score still at 0-0.
But then just six minutes into the second half, Rory Loy latched onto a Lee Miller pass before rounding the goalkeeper to give United the lead.
Pompey battled with a Patrick Agyemang shot that was blocked by Sean O’Hanlon before substitute John Akinde was brought down by goalkeeper Mark Gillespie.
Liam Walker, who had only been on the pitch for 15 minutes, did the honours from the spot to earn his side a draw.
That result puts Pompey bottom of the league after Hartlepool’s dramatic win.
But back to back draws show a small improvement.