There was a real end-of-chapter as well as end-of-season feel about this Championship encounter at Glanford Park as Scunthorpe and Pompey shared the spoils.
For the home team it was their last game in the Championship - their relegation to League One already confirmed.
For the Pompey team this will be the last time many of the players represent the Club.
Immediately after the game and in the days following, the departures of Daryll Flahaven and Danny Webber were both confirmed alongside a few other 'junior' professionals (Pack, Kilbey, Ciftci, Gregory, Ryan, Martin, Goddard).
Flahaven has occupied the substitutes' bench throughout his stay, not once dislodging the reliable and injury-free Jamie Ashdown from the starting line-up.
Webber's return from injury has come just-in-time for him to secure himself a new contract but it'll be with another club; he has been deemed surplus to requirements and a new Pompey contract was not put on the table.
Doubts remain over Hermann Hreidarsson and David Nugent whose current contracts expire next month. Wage demands and Pompey's inability to meet them would seem to be stumbling blocks. Although in the case of Hreidarsson there must also be some doubt about offering a contract to someone in their mid-late thirties, however ageist that sounds and irrespective of the pride and passion he has demonstrated to the Pompey Faithful. Even Ryan Giggs will have to retire one day!
Personally, I'd like to see Hermann come back for another season but I don't think Nugent will be staying and an offer from one of the many Clubs in the North-West seems the most likely outcome and his ultimate destination.
Of course Michael Brown and Richard Hughes will also be leaving, although they haven't played for quite some time.
Tal Ben Haim's situation continues to be shrouded in mystery but it would be a surprise if he pulled on a Pompey shirt again, surely something will have to give there? But we shall see, it's a funny old game.
With the loan spells of David Cotterill (Swansea City), Jonathan Hogg (Aston Villa), Greg Halford (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Ritchie De Laet (Manchester United), Carl Dickinson and Ibrahimo Sonko (both Stoke City, the latter hardly used in recent times) all coming to an end, the Pompey squad really has been depleted.
The actions of the players after the game reflected all of this - kit was thrown in to the Pompey fans at the end of the game (not all of it falling in to safe hands!) and Carl Dickinson bashfully waved 'goodbye', having spent some time before the game and during half-time blasting shots in amongst the fans.
The football all seems secondary to this long list of departures and the break-up of a Pompey squad we were constantly being reminded by Steve Cotterill were 'a great bunch of lads' with a 'great spirit' amongst them. All good things come to an end I guess.
If truth be told Pompey were dreadful in the first half and as @DaveSargent rightly said at half-time on Twitter there hadn't been a worse half of football by Pompey since their opening day defeat against Coventry City at The Ricoh Arena - and that was really bad!
The travelling fans, all 1,500 of them, certainly let the players know how they felt when a Liam Lawrence effort late-on in the first half received a huge, ironic cheer.
At that point Pompey were 1-0 down to a well taken goal by Ramon Nunez, on-loan at Glanford Park from Leeds United.
A Jamie Ashdown error led to the goal and Nunez picked the ball up to the left of the penalthy area before cutting inside, tip-toeing along the 18 yard box before htting a beautiful shot past the Pompey keeper into the top right hand corner of the goal.
It was the one moment of class to light-up an otherwise dull first period of play. Scunthorpe were the better team on display.
HT: Scunthorpe United 1-0 Portsmouth
The Pompey players didn't have much of a half-time break, Steve Cotterill had obviously shared a few choice words and sent the players back out early.
Whatever was said it did the trick and Pompey were much livelier in the second period. Nugent had a powerful shot come back off the left upright and another shot later on troubled the keeper, Lawrence had a 'goal' disallowed and Kanu just failed to get on the end of a cross from the right hand side when a simple touch would have deflected the ball in to the net.
However, it wasn't until the 81st minute that Pompey finally managed to equalise.
The fans had been calling for Danny Webber ('We want Webber! We want Webber!') to come on as substitute and Cotterill duely obliged.
It was his persistence at the dead ball line to keep the ball in play that eventually led to David Nugent scoring. Webber flicked the ball in to the six yard box and the home team, including their substituite goalkeeper, failed to clear it. In the melee that followed Nugent scuffed in his 14th goal of the season, it looked like his shot took a deflection.
There was little celebration amongst the players, but the fans were pleased.
Pompey deserved the goal for the second half display but it was tough luck on the home team who had played well. Nunez in particular had looked lively throughout and only a fine save from Ashdown denied him a second spectacular goal following a dipping, swerving shot with pace, the ball tipped over for a corner.
The referee Mr Atkinson, whose previous match was a UEFA Europa Cup Semi-Final in Portugal, finally called the proceedings to a halt and Pompey's rollercoaster season had come to an end.
FT: Scunthorpe United 1-1 Portsmouth
Portsmouth versus Scunthorpe United: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie De Laet, Aaron Mokoena, Greg Halford, Hermann Hreidarsson, Joel Ward, Hayden Mullins, Jonathan Hogg, Liam Lawrence, David Nugent, Kanu. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Carl Dickinson, Danny Webber, David Cotterill
Attendance: 5,142 - I'm struggling to think of a lower crowd I've watched Pompey play a competitive game in, I'll need to check. The Anglo-Italian Cup springs to mind. But certainly in terms of the Football League this was the lowest ever.
Pompey MOTM: Jamie Ashdown made a number of good saves and despite his error that led to the Scunthorpe goal he just about clinched MOTM for me.
Next up for Pompey: look out for the new fixture list to be published later this Summer! With Southampton and Brighton promoted from League One next season already has six South Coast derbies on offer, if Bournemouth get promoted too in the play-offs and if Reading fail to get promoted to The Premier League then The Championship will have a real 'southern' feel to it. All BIG ifs of course! Roll on 2011-12!
BlueThruAndThru
