Sunderland fan blog: Lee Johnson's squad owe fans a result at Gillingham after League One embarrassment at Portsmouth

Days where everything seems to go against you, and on Saturday, it proved to be a hurtful and humiliating day for Sunderland, as they conceded their first real defeat of the season when they were outfought by the opposition.

Portsmouth away has never been easy.

And the sell-out Fratton Park crowd at the weekend weren't going to make life easy for the Black Cats, but add on the horrendous weather conditions, and it combined for a day of disaster for Lee Johnson' s side.

And in truth, it may shape this side for the better; overall, it's a learning curve for a youthful side, and they were purely beaten to a side that "adapted to the conditions better than us", in the words of Lee Johnson.

The fact that Johnson recognised the poor performance of his players was more to blame than the conditions, was reassuring for a set of supporters that had experienced one of their first real lows of the season.

The Black Cats were second-best from minute one and just couldn't battle against both the conditions and the Portsmouth press, combined with their own lack of creativity in a more experienced starting 11 chosen by Johnson.

Yes, it was a hurtful defeat in awful conditions, but there will no doubt be lessons learnt for Johnson & Co.

However, all promotion challengers in League One will experience a defeat like this, it's natural.

For Sunderland, it may not be the last, but the most important thing is the way that this side reacts to this defeat - an international break from league fixtures gives Johnson two weeks of rest with his side. It also gives the players two weeks to dwell on a victory that would have hurt.

Gillingham in just under two week's time will provide another test of this youthful and maturing squad, before another two away matches to end the month, as well as the visit of Charlton to the Stadium of Light.

For now, it's important to learn from this defeat, and react well after the international break.

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