Jamie O'Hara was shocked to see Portsmouth concede three second-half goals at Blackburn.
Pompey midfielder 'shocked' at second-half performance
Jamie O'Hara was shocked to see Portsmouth concede three second-half goals at Blackburn after they had begun the game so well.
Pompey knew they could have lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with a win at Ewood Park and everything seemed to be going to plan when O'Hara gave them a 15-minute lead.
However, three goals, all coming from set-pieces, from Ryan Nelsen and a brace from Jason Roberts, who was only introduced at the interval, sent the South Coast club home empty handed.
The Tottenham loanee confessed that the defeat was harder to take after the players had emphasised to each other how important it was to hold on in the second-half.
"We started well and got a goal in front - that is what we wanted. And we looked comfortable," he told
The News.
"The fans were getting frustrated and at half-time we just said, 'come on lads, lets just keep it tight'. But it didn't happen for us in the second-half.
"You come away from home against Blackburn and it is hard enough without shooting yourself in the foot by conceding three goals from set-pieces.
Shocking
"Okay, they brought on Roberts at half-time and that changed things. The fans got behind them. But it was pretty shocking to concede three goals from set-pieces.
"I haven't seen whose mistakes they were, but we have got an experienced team full of players who have played at international level.
"We have got to be able to do better. When you are at the bottom you have got to be able to do better than that."
The 23-year-old added that the defeat was made worse by the fact that the players now had two weeks to mull over the result because of the international break.
"The killer now is that we have two weeks to ponder over the game," he stated. "At half-time we said 'lads, this is massive - a whopper'.
"If we can get three points we have two weeks to relax out of the bottom three. Now we are bottom with two weeks to think about it.
"We fancied our chances before the game, but I think there were a few lads who did not realise what we were going to get or what it is about when you play there.
"A few players came in for a shock. At least we know what to expect when we play Stoke after the international break."
Injury worries
To compound matters Hassan Yebda is set for a spell on the sidelines with a torn calf muscle while striker Aruna Dindane was replaced after 52 minutes against Rovers after complaining of a sore hamstring.
Full-back Steve Finnan was another who missed the trip to Lancashire with a groin problem and manager Paul Hart admits he could struggle to face Stoke in a fortnights time.
"We already lost Steve Finnan and now Hassan Yebda is missing," he said. "They have been playing particularly well.
"Hassan got a strain and tore a calf muscle. It's hard to say [how long he is out for] but we've got a break now and hopefully he'll get a rest.
"Steve's a great player, a great calming influence and a great lad to have around. Anyone would miss him."
