Town’s home game with Portsmouth remains 0-0 at half-time but with the Blues having lost both Sam Morsy and Kayden Jackson to injury.
Conor Chaplin and Cameron Burgess came into an otherwise unchanged team, Burgess on the left of the centre of the defence for George Edmundson, who is out for some time with ankle injury.
Former Pompey forward Chaplin was one of the number 10s with Sone Aluko dropping to the bench.
Skipper Sam Morsy was fit to start despite suffering a hamstring problem in Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Lincoln.
For the visitors, Aiden O’Brien replaced Tyler Walker up front, while ex-Blues loanee Ryan Tunnicliffe came in for summer Town target Joe Morrell.
With American director Ed Schwartz watching from the directors’ box having attended last night’s Ex-Players’ Dinner, the game got under way after both teams had taken a knee to applause.
The Blues got off to a positive start with Bersant Celina deftly taking down and high ball and moving past a Portsmouth player in the same movement before his pass through to Kayden Jackson was cut out.
Town dominated the early stages with Portsmouth unable to get on the ball. On five, Celina hit a snap shot from 25 yards but wide of Pompey keeper Gavin Bazanu’s right post.
Moments later, Portsmouth broke forward but Luke Woolfenden did well to get across in front of O’Brien to dispossess the former Millwall man.
In the eighth minute, Morsy stood up a cross from the left but just behind Jackson, his headed attempt ultimately ending up at the feet of Chaplin, whose scuffed effort went wide. Morsy, an injury doubt going into the game, subsequently required treatment but was OK to continue although gingerly.
On 11, following a short corner on the right, Burns looped a ball to the far post from the corner of the penalty box where Burgess, who had made an impressive start to the game, nodded back across goal but onto Jackson’s heel and the ball was cleared.
Portsmouth won two corners in quick succession which Town dealt with comfortably, the second leading to Celina breaking away on the left and looking to find Burns in the clear on the right with a cross-field pass but a Pompey defender was able to cut out and nod back to Bazunu.
Morsy succumbed to his injury in the 21st minute, the skipper making his way off to applause as Tom Carroll replaced him with Janoi Donacien taking the armband.
Portsmouth went close for the first time soon afterwards when Ronan Curtis hit a low ball in from the right and O’Brien turned it over under pressure from a number of Town defenders.
Following the resultant goal-kick, Woolfenden played it straight to O’Brien just outside the area from where the January signing from Sunderland scraped his shot wide.
After a Town corner had come to nothing, Portsmouth broke from a free-kick and George Hirst attempted to lift the ball over Christian Walton from the edge of the box but looped it into the Town keeper’s arms.
The Blues were going through a scruffy spell with Portsmouth more in the game than in the early stages.
Pompey’s Louis Thompson was shown the game’s first yellow card on the half hour for clattering into Burns’s ankles from behind just in front of the dugouts.
The Town crowd felt it might have been more than a yellow and the Blues bench made their feelings about the challenge known and there was a lengthy exchange of views between Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley and Town keeper-coach Rene Gilmartin with Burns having been the victim of one or two earlier overzealous tackles.
The Blues began to restore their earlier level of control and on 38 Donacien sent in a cross which was turned against a defender. Seconds later, Chaplin worked himself space on the edge of the box before his shot was blocked.
As the half moved into its penultimate scheduled minute, Chaplin unleashed a shot from 25 yards which flew not too far over the bar.
Seconds before the fourth official’s board indicated three additional minutes, Celina sent Jackson away on the left with Bazunu initially starting to come before retreating. Jackson’s pace took him past two defenders before the striker hit a shot from a tight angle which the keeper saved. Jackson landed awkwardly and needed treatment for what looked like a shoulder injury.
From the corner, with Jackson off the field, Donacien was adamant Town should have been awarded a penalty after being manhandled as the deep ball in the box flew towards him. Neither referee Christopher Sarginson nor his assistant saw the incident with Donacien appearing to have a decent case.
Jackson didn’t reappear, the striker making his way straight to the tunnel with Macauley Bonne replacing him.
That was the final action of a half in which the Blues had started on top before going through a sloppy spell - following Morsy’s early exit - in which Pompey had the best chance of the game through O’Brien.
Town started to look more themselves again towards the end of the half although with too many passes going astray and the additional blow of Jackson’s injury.
Town: Walton, Donacien, Woolfenden, Burgess, Burns, Bakinson, Morsy (c) (Carroll 21), Thompson, Chaplin, Celina, Jackson (Bonne 45). Subs: Hladky, Vincent-Young, Aluko, Pigott, Norwood.
Portsmouth: Bazunu, Robertson (c), O'Brien, Tunnicliffe, Curtis, Romeo, Ogilvie, Carter, Hirst, Raggett, Thompson. Subs: Webber, Hume, Walker, Morrell, Vincent, Mingi, Jewitt-White. Referee: Christopher Sarginson (Staffordshire).