SEEING Portsmouth succumb to a dismal 3-0 home defeat to Leyton Orient was a hard watch for most of the 19,000 fans in Fratton Park last Saturday.

But picking a man of the match was even harder for the watching sponsors from Oakhanger.

It was so hard, in fact, that Silent Air and Sea boss Gary Magee and his disappointed party declined to pick one.

They informed the club's legendary goalkeeper Alan Knight of their decision, with no man of the match being announced by the stadium announcer in a move that raised few eyebrows.

The group forfeited their chance to meet the “winning” Pompey player as a result, but they probably wouldn’t have been in the mood for celebrating.

“My father and I have been Pompey fans for over 40 years and very rarely have we seen such a poor performance,” said Mr Magee, whose logistics firm were match sponsors for the day.

“When we were asked to choose a man of the match, we all made a collective decision to not nominate anyone as it was so poor.

"To be honest it would have been demoralising for any player to have to come to the lounge post-match to accept it.

“We did ask them to choose Pompey fans or a Leyton Orient player, but the club did not sanction this.”

Gary’s family-owned firm is based on Oakhanger Farm Business Park and specialises in cargo and freight services to all corners of the globe.