Manager Paul Lambert insisted he would not dwell on his side's fourth Championship home defeat of the season as Portsmouth ended the Canaries' six-match unbeaten run.

Missed chances in the first half cost City dear as David Kitson's goal and a Greg Halford penalty gave Pompey the points late in the game.

But Lambert argued that there was little wrong with the performance – only the finishing.

'When you have the dominance we had and the chances we were creating, you've got to take them but the way we played there's no way I can criticise that group,' he said.

'I thought we were dominant nearly the whole game but we were up against a really good quality side that has just come down (from the Premier League) – probably the strongest eleven in the league when you look at that.

'They've been up there, we've come through League One but we never disgraced ourselves by any stretch with the way we played.

'You pick yourself up and you go to the next one. When you win a game, you don't dwell on it. When you lose, I won't dwell on it, not when we're playing like that.'

Simeon Jackson, replacing suspended skipper Grant Holt, missed arguably City's best chance in the 18th minute when he shot straight at Pompey 'keeper Jamie Ashdown, on loan at Carrow Road four years ago.

'The goalkeeper made some terrific saves. Simeon had the chance and the goalkeeper made a really good save. On another day they go in or they fall to somebody else but I can't fault them for the way they played,' said Lambert.

'You miss your striker, a lad who's on fire, but that's why you have a squad - for lads to come in and do the job.

'We'll play worse than that and win games but I think our level of performances at the moment is really high.

'We've got some really talented footballers who are technically very, very good so I don't have a problem playing that way and creating chances. We don't kick it long, we try to play the game the right way.'