Pompey's 3-2 defeat to Wolfsburg coupled with Braga's 2-1 win in Heerenveen has resulted in Pompey's exit from Europe in the group stages of the UEFA Cup.
The day for me had started very well. On arrival in Hannover I was greeted by an over-enthusiastic German reporter who asked me for a score prediction and whether I would cause trouble or not! She failed to believe I wasn't a thug and so she also interviewed the English police about Pompey fans being potential troublemakers!
After arriving in the town centre I had a few drinks with a couple of friends and Guy Whittingham. Then I tried the tasty Bratwurst in the Hannover Christmas market along with some other delicacies. It looked like it was going to be another fantastic European day out.
However, It was only when the Pompey fans arrived at the impressive Volkswagen Arena that the day turned sour.
The Germans are supposed to be well known for their efficiency but they took so long to get the Pompey fans in thanks to only having two turnstiles per sector and having the stewards perform a thorough search on every single fan before entering the arena.
Because of this, some visiting fans missed the first quarter of the game, meaning they also missed the first four goals of a frantic opening to the match.
Pompey's defending yesterday could be described as "Sunday League" at best. It took just three minutes for Wolfsburg to score after Distin was done by Christian Gentner and his cross picked out the unmarked Edin Dzenko who slotted in.
Their lead didn't last long though as David James took a corner and launched a quick counter-attack through Armand Traore and after beating his man for pace, crossed the ball which was parried by Benaglio only for Jermain Defoe to tap in the rebound.
It was even better for the travelling fans after some good combination work from Glen Johnson and Sean Davis on the right gave Arnold Mvuemba the opportunity to shoot, and with a deflection the ball found the back of net and Pompey had turned things around.
Unfortunately, such is my faith in the Pompey defence these days I just knew we'd concede again and that we did as nobody took responsibility for clearing Gentner's cross-shot as the ball rolled into the corner of the net.
The game lulled after such an exciting period but the second half belonged to Wolfsburg as despite Niko Kranjcar rattling the bar with a free kick, the home side always looked dangerous against a porous Pompey backline but it was a David James howler against the Wolves that gifted them the victory.
I don't know why he didn't just hoof it when under pressure from Misimovic rather than wait and try and pass it out but it didn't work and the Bosnian took the invitation to roll the ball into an empty net. That gaffe could well be the worst in James' career and what a costly one it was.
England's number one did go some way to redeeming himself by saving Misimovic's poor penalty after Campbell's silly challenge on Dzenko in the box. The damage had already been done though and with Braga winning Tony Adams threw on Kanu (in centre midfield) but like his earlier sub in Peter Crouch (why didn't he start?), it was ineffective as Pompey simply struggled further.
And so having only got one point from three games, we're out and the Heerenveen game is now virtually pointless. It's a shame because being in Europe has been such a fantastic experience, so much so that I'm now going to find it difficult to get excited about a Premier League game now.
I can't understand why Adams decided to play 4-4-1-1 against a side who didn't look at all composed at the back. Had we started with Crouch (or brought him on at half time) then I feel we could have caused them a lot more problems.
Of course, that probably wouldn't have mattered because our defence are playing like schoolboys at the moment. We've conceded 8 goals in the three group games and based on that stat alone you could say we don't deserve to go through.
As a world class centre back in his day, Tony needs to get the defence organised ASAP or else we could be in trouble if not this season, then maybe next season if (or when) our best players are sold.
Overall though, I've had a great time following Pompey around the continent and I'll never forget the kindness of the people in both Portugal and Germany and all the experience of the Guimaraes and AC Milan games in particular. I'm just disappointed the European tour couldn't continue further, especially as it may be a long time before this happens again.
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 5 - Horrendous gaffe, yet saved a penalty.
Glen Johnson: 6 - Good going forward.
Sol Campbell: 5 - Did not get the defence organised.
Sylvain Distin: 4 - Possibly his worst game for the club.
Nadir Belhadj: 5 - Off at half time after being exposed too many times.
Arnold Mvuemba: 6 - Bright in patches.
Sean Davis: 6 - Worked hard.
Richard Hughes: 5 - Never passed the ball forwards.
Armand Traore: 6 - Pace posed some problems.
Niko Kranjcar: 6 - Well marshalled by the Wolfsburg defence.
Jermain Defoe: 6 - Scored but missed another couple of good opportunities.
Substitutes
Jamie Ashdown
Hermann Hreidarsson
Noe Pamarot (Belhadj 46): 6 - More solid than Belhadj.
Papa Bouba Diop
Glen Little
Peter Crouch (Mvuemba 66): 5 - Didn't get into the game.
Kanu (Kranjcar 77): N/A - Ineffective in midfield.