Two first half goals were enough to give Watford all three points in this poor Championship encounter between two teams struggling in the lower reaches of the division.
The first goal came in the second minute of play when Michael Kightly, on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, had a shot from the left hand side of the penalty area that took a deflection off a Pompey defender and beat the hapless Henderson. There was nothing the Pompey 'keeper could have done.
The second goal came just before half time as England U21 international Marvin Sordell found himself unmarked in the box at a corner kick to skilfully volley the ball home.
It was effectively game over.
To say that this was a disappointing defeat would be an understatement. Watford, below Pompey in the table, were seemingly there for the taking.
On paper Pompey's team had a better quality look to it than Watford's team but as has happened before this season (e.g. at Hull) that quality did not translate itself to the field of play and Pompey put on a performance that at times bordered on mediocrity.
Having said that nothing should be taken away from their hosts who never looked in any real danger of relinquishing their lead.
Former loanee players Jonathan Hogg and Carl Dickinson typified the Hornets' hard working approach and in Marvin Sordell Watford have a player with a very bright future ahead of him in the game.
It wasn't just losing it was the manner of Pompey's defeat that really irked. There was only one notable effort on goal during the whole game and that came in the final few minutes when Erik Huseklepp's powerful freekick, from the edge of the box, was beaten away to safety by Watford 'keeper Scott Loach.
That effort aside Pompey's chances were few and far between: in the first half Luke Varney had a weak shot after good work by David Norris and in the second a glancing header from a corner at the near post that lacked power and was safely saved by Loach on the goal line; in the second half Greg Halford had a free-kick that he drilled over the cross-bar; and late on an off-balance Dave Kitson had a soft header that hit the upright and fell away for a goal kick.
Pompey's general play lacked any cohesion or creativity and as a result they were unable to put their opponents under any real pressure.
Danger man Erik Huseklepp didn't see enough of the ball and niether Varney or Kitson were on top of their game. Kitson became so frustrated that he talked himself in to the referee's notebook complaining when a decision went against him.
Overall, it didn't make for pretty viewing and there were occasions when the Pompey fans vented their frustrations at the players.
There was a really nice buzz amongst the 1,700 travelling fans before the match which I haven't seen very much of at away games this season. This was demonstrated by the positive welcome the team received as they stepped off the bus and as they came out to warm up.
Pre-match expectations were high, especially coming off the back of the victory against Nottingham Forest prior to the international break, but sadly that expectation level quickly fell away.
On this showing Michael Appleton and the coaching staff have an awful lot of work to do and it needs to be done quickly on and off the training pitch.
The emergency loan window closes on Thursday this week and in his after game interview Pompey's new manager commented that he'd like to bring in some new faces to bolster the squad and generate some competition for places.
Let's hope he's successful.
Match Action Pictures
Portsmouth versus Watford: Stephen Henderson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Jason Pearce, Tal Ben Haim, Joel Ward, Hayden Mullins, David Norris, Erik Huseklepp, Dave Kitson and Luke Varney. Substitutes: Jamie Ashdown, Benjani, Aaron Mokoena, King Kanu and Abdul Razak.
Benjani replaced Tal Ben Haim at the start of the second half. The Israeli international had been given a torrid time down the left by Mark Yeates.
Attendance: 12,864 and 1,727 noisy Pompey fans made the trip to Vicarage Road.
Pompey MOTM: the brightest Pompey player on the pitch was Abdul Razak when he came on as a second half substitute. Although young he looks like a player who can pass the ball well and can create space and chances with a few tricks to boot. However, I can't award any Pompey player a MOTM award, based on the team's overall performance it would be totally undeserved.
Next up for Pompey: Leicester City at home in the Championship on Saturday 26th November at 3PM
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