Report by Ben Davis

High flying West Brom condemned Pompey to their sixth straight defeat and once again defensive errors contibuted to them losing the game. However, the visitors third goal looked miles offside and Pompey rolled their sleeves up and did well to reduce the deficit in the closing stages.
Aussie internationals Craig Foster and Robbie Enes made their debuts as Fenwick made wholesale changes from the team which lost to Stockport. The Jamaican duo Hall and Simpson returned, although they will miss the Bradford game because of more international commitments. Igoe and Whitbread returned with Perrett missing out.
Pompey's hopes of keeping that elusive clean sheet were dashed after only seven minutes as West Brom took the lead. A Sneekes corner was headed up into the air by Thomson and as the ball fell down Mardon, unchallenged, despatched a stunning overhead kick into the top left hand corner of the net. Some goal for the defender who hadn't scored in three seasons.
Aloisi then found himself in a great position after 10 minutes as Igoe found the striker in space on the edge of the area, but his first touch let him down giving Mardon the opportunity to clear. Five minutes later Pethick was brought down out on the right and from Simpson's free-kick the ball bounced through to Aloisi who fired it over from 12-yards with only the keeper in front of him.
Pompey were doing well, with the equalising goal eluding them. After two wasted free-kicks West Brom's Peschisolido clumsily gave the ball to Hall and his shot stung the palms of Miller in the visitor goal. Then from an Igoe corner Miller dropped the ball although Foster couldn't find a way through the massed ranks of red shirts from a tight angle.
A dart down the right by Pethick ended with his cross being headed inches wide by Aloisi who had dived in from 18-yards to meet the cross. The signs though were encouraging with West Brom unable to get going and were relying very much on their defence to keep Pompey out.
Virtually on half-time a Simpson corner from the right was headed back by Aloisi to Enes whose fine volley was brilliantly headed off the line by Smith.
Four minutes after the restart Pompey's concentration let them down as West Brom went further into the lead. From a Sneekes free-kick out on the right Burgess headed down across the goal for Hunt to tap into an unguarded net with no blue shirted defender in sight.
A stunned Pompey suffered another blow two minutes later when Sneekes got behind the defence to set up Hunt to drive a shot under the hapless Flahavan. The Pompey players and crowd though were certain Hunt was offside when he received the ball but the goal stood.
Pompey should have had a goal back minutes later when Aloisi slipped Hall though on goal but he somehow managed to strike the foot of the post and the chance went. On 62 minutes Miller produced a fine save as he tipped Whitbread's header around the post for a corner. That went by and Pompey were left ruing those missed chances in the first half.
Yet as Pompey pressed forward West Brom countered and their nippy Canadian striker Peschisolido racing through with only Flahavan to beat but the keeper made a fine save low to his right. Alan McLoughlin then came on for Enes who had battled away in his defensive midfield role. The Eire international added a more attacking dimension the midfield as Pompey continued to put their visitors under pressure.
Another Aussie then entered the frame as Hamilton Thorp came on for Simpson. His extra height immediately gave the West Brom defence problems. Baggies midfielder Sean Flynn had to go off for treatment after Thorp had kicked the former Derby player's head in. He need a bandage around his head and was subsequently substituted not long after.
After 78 minutes Pompey had something to cheer about as they pulled a goal back. West Brom could only clear a corner as far as McLoughlin who brilliantly volley home from 20-yards. That got the crowd going and in the 85th minute there was realistic hope as Pompey scored a second goal. Foster picked up a loose ball and charged forward to curl a shot past Miller from the edge of the area.
Amazingly it could have been three a piece when Thorp rose highest to head down to Aloisi but he contrived to miss from two yards with Miller managing to scramble it away. That though was the last chance of the game and West Brom had won to put them up to third in the table and leave Pompey lying second from bottom.
The performance by Pompey was much better than it was against Reading but they are giving themselves far too much to do by conceding early goals, something they must concentrate on for the Bradford game.