No joy for new-look Pompey

Portsmouth 0 Inter Milan 2

The Oxfordshire official allowed the Italians, who have already beaten Leicester, Crystal Palace and Norwich, to get away with some strong-arm tactics which saw strikers Lomana LuaLua and Ivica Mornar go off injured.

To cap it all, Gallagher awarded the Serie A side a controversial penalty nine minutes after half-time.

Dejan Stankovic later slotted in Inter’s second.

Afterwards, Portsmouth coach Joe Jordan said he expects Lomana LuaLua to be fit for the start of the season. LuaLua was substituted after receiving a slight knock, with the 24-year-old impressing against the Italian giants.

Jordan, however, is less hopeful for defender Linvoy Primus, who has a knee injury and will miss the start of Pompey’s campaign.

“It was just a precaution with Lua,” said Jordan, “He will be fine. So will Ivica Mornar who we lost after just 10 minutes with a thigh strain, but Linvoy is struggling and I don’t know if he will make it.”

Pompey suffered defeat in their first home appearance since last May, but Jordan added: “It was a useful exercise for us and we will benefit from it.”

Strikers Vincent Pericard and Svetoslav Todorov both appeared as substitutes after missing most of the last two seasons with serious knee injuries.

Colombia midfielder John Viafara was impressive but goalkeeper Sander Westerveld, the former Liverpool player signed on a free transfer from Mallorca, gave away a needless penalty which sparked a strong Inter side’s victory.