Portsmouth FC will be thankful for one particular Cardiff City failure on Tuesday | OneFootball

A 2-0 defeat for Portsmouth on Tuesday evening could've been so much worse had it not been for their opponents' shortcomings

Portsmouth are bringing up the rear in the Championship after 11 games, and a 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City in midweek was the latest crushing blow in what is rapidly becoming a nightmare return to the second tier.

After a 2-1 win against QPR last weekend secured Pompey their first league win of the season, optimism was high that they could follow it up against Cardiff, but that ultimately wasn't the case.

Portsmouth fans will argue the fact they sit bottom of the Championship only tells half the story of their season so far, as the fixture gremlins threw up a series of tough fixtures to open the campaign.

They've so far faced all three relegated sides alongside promotion chasing Middlesbrough, West Brom and Sunderland, so Pompey fans will feel like they've been dealt a tough start to Championship life.

It'll be the manner of their most recent defeat that concerned them the most though, as a 2-0 defeat to Cardiff flattered them a little, as the score could've been a lot worse.

As a defender from his playing days, Mousinho will be disheartened to see his side struggling the way they are, particularly defensively.

Tuesday night saw Cardiff miss five big chances according to Fotmob, which cynics may argue makes their 2-0 defeat seem like a good result.

Concerningly for Pompey, Cardiff are currently a direct rival near the bottom of the table and after that defeat in South Wales, Pompey now trail them by three points.

Mousinho would've been banking on games like those as ones where his side could start to pick up points, but the gulf between the two sides was enough to raise alarm bells for the Pompey boss.

Aside from the big chances, the Bluebirds created an xG of 2.72 as opposed to Pompey's 0.68 according to Fotmob, which was another damning indictment of how far off the pace Portsmouth are as opposed to the sides they're directly competing against.

It's not all doom and gloom for Pompey, who have some winnable fixtures on paper in front of them, but after Mousinho questioned their mentality in midweek, they've got plenty to prove to show they belong at this level.

Mousinho still believes his side can cut it at this level, and peculiarly claimed in the wake of the Cardiff game that he has seen his side have Championship quality in spite of thier league position.

"They are good enough for the Championship and the reason for me believing that is because I have seen it.

"They have performed well and done enough to win games, done enough to draw games, and are certainly doing enough to compete against sides which have players that already played in the Premier League.

"We’ve done that against Sheffield United, who have a very, very similar mix to Cardiff, and we're done that against Burnley.

"My big takeaway from Tuesday night was the mentality - and I am going to have a chat with the lads about the reasons why we started the game the way we did."

He's laid down the gauntlet to his side ahead of a huge game against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, but if they're to give up five big chances again, then surely a sixth league defeat of the season is in the offing.