Tim Cahill kept his head and his shirt on after he nodded the 80th minute goal that kept Everton up with the Barclays Premiership pace-setters and ended Portsmouth's 10-match unbeaten home Premiership record.
Cahill, the former Millwall player from Australia, was sent off two weeks ago after scoring the Everton winner against Manchester City at Eastlands.
It was seen as a disrespectful celebration by referee Steve Bennett when the midfielder ran away from goal with his shirt pulled over his head but at Fratton Park Cahill made it plain to official Dermot Gallagher that he was not going to get carried away.
To be honest, few of the 20,000 crowd were in danger of that after a poor match. Everton win again but that was all they could genuinely say for themselves.
When Cahill, who had no more than a quietly effective afternoon, rose to head in Tony Hibbert's free-kick 10 minutes from time it was a rare moment of light.
It soon became apparent in a dour first half that Everton's rise to the giddy heights of third in the table has been due to large measures of health and efficiency.
Thomas Gravesen and Lee Carsley grafted in midfield while Alan Stubbs - later replaced by Joseph Yobo after gashing his head - and David Weir nailed down the hatches at the back.
Three previous short-head victories, including one-nils against Manchester City and Middlesbrough and a 2-1 over West Brom showed what David Moyes' team are all about since they sold the family silver - or Wayne Rooney as they used
to call him - and they were often content to let Marcus Bent fend for himself up front.
But Pompey lacked any kind of real inspiration in that opening 45 minutes.
Manager Harry Redknapp has bought four pacy strikers but they cannot achieve much without service. And most of Pompey's from midfield was cut off by a forest of Everton legs.
Portsmouth had an early scare when midfield enforcer Amdy Faye, just back from knee trouble, went down heavily from a challenge but then recovered after treatment which he was allowed to receive quickly thanks to Carsley sportingly kicking the ball out of play.
It was a scrappy opening 10 minutes with passes continually going astray and the first shot was by David Unsworth, a hopeful up-and-under that Nigel Martyn caught without challenge.
Nigel Quashie's 12th minute effort looked harmless until it deflected off team-mate Eyal Berkovic and forced Martyn to scramble it behind for a corner.
Then Kevin Kilbane broke clear down Everton's left to send over a tempting cross which saw Steve Watson get ahead of the home defence and steer his shot only inches wide.
Quashie let fly again for Pompey with a thunderous 25-yard effort that Martyn seemed to give up for dead - until it rocketed back into play off a post.
Portsmouth came under a spell of pressure from Everton set-pieces but had their closest first-half shave when Gravesen, sent clear by Weir, fashioned another left wing cross after beating Andy Griffin only for Dejan Stefanovic to rob the hesitant Bent in the six yard box.
Faye and Aiyegbeni Yakubu wasted rare opportunities that were little more than glimpses of goal in truth but Redknapp, who had record signing Diomansy Kamara on the bench until the 68th minute, replaced the thoughtful Berkovic with the power and pace of Lomana LuaLua at the start of the second half when Everton had Yobo on for the bandaged Stubbs.
To be fair, Redknapp did his best and had clearly instructed his men to put a bit more sharpness into it but up until Cahill's header for the winner the second half was not a great deal better than the first.
Bent, who notched the winner against Middlesbrough, passed up two plausible opportunities on the break for Everton, shooting wide and then over after Gravesen and then substitute Duncan Ferguson set him up.
But the best Pompey could offer before the goal was Kamara's appeal for a penalty when referee Dermot Gallagher ruled he had been pulled down outside the box.
Teams
Portsmouth Hislop, Primus, Griffin, Stefanovic, Unsworth,
Faye, Berkovic (LuaLua 45), Quashie, Berger, Yakubu,
Fuller (Kamara 68).
Subs Not Used: Ashdown, Cisse, Taylor.
Booked: Faye.
Everton Martyn, Hibbert, Stubbs (Yobo 45), Weir, Pistone,
Watson (Ferguson 56), Carsley, Cahill, Gravesen, Kilbane, Bent.
Subs Not Used: Wright, Campbell, McFadden.
Booked: Cahill.
Goals: Cahill 80.
Att: 20,125
Ref: D Gallagher (Oxfordshire).
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