Portsmouth continued their mini revival under new manager Alain Perrin to inch
nearer to Premiership safety with a hard-earned point following a goalless draw
at St Andrews.
There was little of the flair and excitement which had illuminated the 4-2 win
over Charlton last weekend although Lomana LuaLua was a handful for the home
defence.
But Perrin would have taken pleasure from seeing his charges hold out for
their first clean sheet in 14 games and they are now eight points clear of the
bottom three.
And it was achieved despite defenders Dejan Stefanovic and Matthew Taylor -
plus leading scorer Yakubu - all being ruled out through injury.
Birmingham extended their unbeaten run to four games but, despite the physical
threat of Emile Heskey, they seldom looked like breaking through and Arjan De
Zeeuw was a solid figure in the visitors' rearguard.
In fact, both back fours ruled the roost with Matthew Upson turning in another
man-of-the-match performance for Steve Bruce's side.
Portsmouth made a confident start on the back of only their second win in 13
matches against Charlton last weekend and LuaLua came close to giving them the
lead inside the opening two minutes.
England Under-21 skipper Gary O'Neil sent over a superb cross from the left
flank which was met firmly by the head of LuaLua but his header flew inches wide
of the far post with Blues keeper Maik Taylor well beaten.
Birmingham looked lethargic in the early stages and were being easily knocked
off the ball in midfield where O'Neil was making his mark.
It needed left winger Stan Lazaridis to briefly bring the home fans to life
with a rasping drive from 30 yards out which was only just too high.
Portsmouth were giving the home side little space in which to play with their
but Lazaridis again went close after 26 minutes.
Midfielder Damien Johnson's deep, hanging cross was missed by Walter Pandiani
but the ball dropped invitingly to Lazaridis and his volley was kept down but
flew past the far post.
Portsmouth keeper Jamie Ashdown parried away a Pennant chip at full stretch
while at the other end Matthew Upson showed good composure to head a LuaLua
cross back to Taylor with Diomansy Kamara threatening.
Heskey was proving a handful in the air and the England striker was only just
too high with a header after being first to react in the centre of the six-yard
box to a powerfully struck centre from Pandiani.
LuaLua was proving a danger to Blues with his pace and trickery although there
was a dearth of clear-cut chances at either end of the pitch.
There was more urgency about proceedings in the early stages of the second
half and it needed a goal-line clearance from Linvoy Primus to prevent Blues
taking the lead.
Ashdown came charging out of his area to try and collect an Upson free-kick
and was left stranded by Heskey's looping header but Primus came to his rescue.
Portsmouth retaliated and Taylor made a double save to block O'Neil's low
drive and then flick the rebound away from Kamara who was ready to pounce.
Ashdown atoned for his earlier misjudgement by denying Pandiani after he had
found himself one on one with the Pompey keeper.
It was Pandiani's last meaningful contribution before he was substituted along
with Lazaridis as Clinton Morrison and Julian Gray were introduced into the
action.
Ashdown dealt with a Gray header and Taylor parried Patrik Berger's low drive
as Portsmouth held on for a deserved share of the spoils.
Teams
Birmingham Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson, Clapham,
Pennant, Johnson, Nafti (Carter 76), Lazaridis (Gray 59),
Heskey, Pandiani (Morrison 59).
Subs Not Used: Blake, Vaesen.
Booked: Nafti.
Portsmouth Ashdown, Cisse, De Zeeuw, Primus, Griffin,
Stone (Berger 64), O'Neil, Hughes, Skopelitis (Mezague 83),
Kamara (Fuller 71), LuaLua.
Subs Not Used: Hislop, Rodic.
Booked: Cisse, Kamara.
Att: 28,883
Ref: P Walton (Northamptonshire).
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