Division One leaders Portsmouth drew for the fourth consecutive game, Julian Gray equalising for Palace three minutes after Paul Merson had opened the scoring.

In an evenly-matched contest it had taken nine minutes for either side to have a shot at goal. Palace wide man Gray, who impressed in Sunday's 3-1 win at Rotherham, was first to try his luck but his effort was held by Shaka Hislop.

Portsmouth's first chance came eight minutes later when Palace failed to properly clear a corner and Svetoslav Todorov hit the crossbar from close range.

Goalscoring opportunities were few and far between at this stage but former England star Merson made the next one count.

He started the move in his own half and then ran 50 yards to get on the end of Matthew Taylor's cross, tucking the ball home from close range for his seventh goal of the season and first in eight games.

But three minutes later, Palace equalised. Danny Butterfield headed the ball into the penalty area and Gray slotted it home.

As the interval approached, the visitors had a decent chance to go ahead through Tommy Black, the two-goal hero at Millmoor, but his shot was cleared by defender Hayden Foxe.

Hayden Mullins fired wide for Palace before Foxe became the first and only player booked for a foul on Dele Adebola.

The second half started as slowly as the first and Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp sent on Gary O'Neil and Vincent Pericard - returning from injury - in place of Lassina Diabate and Deon Burton to try and increase his side's threat.

But the Eagles were looking the more potent attacking side and Gray drew a fine save from Hislop after 61 minutes as he sought a second goal.

Black was proving nowhere near as influential as he had been at Rotherham and was brought off in favour of Ade Akinbiyi, and then O'Neil made his first significant contribution by hitting the crossbar from 25 yards.

As the half progressed, both sides surged forward in pursuit of a winner, Nigel Quashie and Jason Crowe attempting to score for Portsmouth while Akinbiyi forced two saves from Hislop, one a particularly fine tip round the post.

The game petered out in the closing stages and although the point increased Pompey's advantage at the top to four points, nearest rivals Leicester knew they could close it to one by beating Ipswich.

Teams:

Portsmouth Hislop, Crowe (Harper 81), Taylor, Primus, De Zeeuw, Foxe, Quashie, Diabate (O'Neil 57), Merson, Burton (Pericard 58), Todorov.

Subs Not Used: Kawaguchi, Burchill.

Booked: Foxe.

Goals: Merson 27.

Crystal Palace Kolinko, Butterfield, Gray, Powell, Symons, Popovic, Derry, Riihilahti, Mullins, Black (Akinbiyi 62), Adebola.

Subs Not Used: Michopoulos, Williams, Routledge, Borrowdale.

Goals: Gray 30.

Att: 19,217

Ref: L Cable (Surrey).