John Mousinho felt the officials could have done more to tackle Sheffield Wednesday's time wasting in the Owls' 1-0 win at Fratton Park - but admitted their victory showed why they are top.
Wednesday scored early and protected their lead efficiently as the Blues were left - in Mousinho's words - 'disappointed and frustrated'.
The Pompey boss told the club website: 'It was a different feeling to coming off the pitch on Tuesday night. Back then we knew we’d been beaten by the better side, but on this occasion we felt we were the better side.
'I thought we showed more intent from the start and although we created a couple of good chances, didn’t have the quality to open them up. The difference between the two sides is that the one opportunity they had ended up in the back of the net.
'As soon as they got that goal, they seemed relatively content and naturally started to go a bit deeper. You could see why they are top because they are very well organised and it’s a good lesson for us.
'It was still promising, though, and there are loads of positives we can take, while also plenty to work on.
'They were time-wasting from very early on and it was something the referee had to get a grip on. I asked him early on if he could speed things up because whenever we won a free-kick, Sheffield Wednesday players would kick the ball away.
'It was completely obvious to me and the fourth official was acknowledging it, but we didn’t see any improvement and that was frustrating for the fans. I thought the refereeing unit could have done more about it early on because otherwise it just ruins the game.'