Gary O'Neil's second goal in consecutive home games plucked three more precious points for Portsmouth but they should have been far more comfortably in command against insipid, injury-hit Fulham.

O'Neil whose strike on Boxing Day against West Ham was worth a point, made it two home wins for manager Harry Redknapp when he hit the target in the 43rd minute.

The England Under-21 midfielder had already been deprived of a thrilling solo goal by a poor finish when he latched onto Dario Silva's left-wing cross after Zat Knight failed to clear. He nipped past a defender and slipped a shot past Tony Warner for what turned out the decider.

Yet O'Neil, Silva and especially Lomana LuaLua all missed a string of chances after the break.

The omens were not good for Pompey when keeper Jamie Ashdown injured himself in the warm-up and Sander Westerveld had to take over in his first appearance since late August.

But the former Liverpool star stood up to an early blitz by Fulham in which he blocked McBride's shot after the American slid in to meet a corner and then saw Tomasz Radzinski hook the rebound over the bar.

Westerveld also had to get down well to Heidar Helguson's low drive while counterpart Warner, in for Fulham hamstring veteran Mark Crossley, only had to worry about Laurent Robert's party tricks in the first half-hour - inswinging corners and some cheeky free-kicks.

It looked as if it had all gone wrong for Fulham, though, in the 27th minute when Helguson, their £1million summer buy from Watford, had to limp off.

They were already without Papa Bouba Diop, Steed Malbranque - their inspirational midfielders - and defender Moritz Volz.

Fulham manager Chris Coleman replaced Helguson with Dutch forward Collins John but it was still a worry with co-striker McBride coming off briefly just a little earlier for treatment on a damaged shoulder.

They still had Radzinski, however, and when the Canadian cut in from the left past Brian Priske's challenge his shot was not too far over the crossbar.

LuaLua, by now though, had begun to look a major danger for Pompey. Warner did well to pick out his low cross and then he struck a rising drive over the bar. And in the 36th minute he linked well with O'Neil to set up Silva whose flicked drive was just too high.

LuaLua was building up a head of steam and two minutes later he raced down the right to send in a cross which flashed across the area without another touch.

Two minutes before the interval, however, O'Neil broke the deadlock for Pompey, getting onto a cross from the left by the determined Silva which Knight failed to clear and nicked the ball past Warner.

Hard-working O'Neil deserved his second goal in consecutive home games and should have had another one earlier. His solo run took him just inside the Fulham area where he made space for a shot but scuffed it feebly wide.

You could see any confidence drain from Fulham, however, after his goal. Silva ripped down the right to drill just over at the start of the second half and a stream of crosses from Robert on his unfamiliar right had the Cottagers constantly stressed.

All the chances seemed to fall to LuaLua and you could see why Pompey want to keep him back from the African Nations Cup next month as long as possible.

But he missed the opportunities to put Fulham to bed much earlier, shooting wide after his own solo break and lifting a golden opening over the crossbar after O'Neil, Silva and Matt Taylor combined to set him up with 20 minutes left.

O'Neil was wide from a chance just as good as the one from which he scored and Silva shot wide - although it did not stop the Uruguayan taking a standing ovation when he was replaced just before the end.

But Pompey's defenders had to earn their corn when Radzinski was faced by a gaping goal only to see his shot blocked on the line for a corner. How sad would that have been for Portsmouth especially after Everton's late winner at Sunderland kept them in the bottom three?

Teams

Portsmouth Westerveld, Priske, O'Brien, Stefanovic, Griffin, O'Neil, Hughes, Taylor, LuaLua, Silva (Karadas 86), Robert (Cisse 90).

Subs Not Used: Viafara, Todorov, Guatelli.

Booked: Karadas.

Goals: O'Neil 43.

Fulham Warner, Leacock, Knight, Goma, Rosenior, Legwinski, Elrich (Bocanegra 59), Boa Morte, Radzinski, Helguson (John 28), McBride.

Subs Not Used: Drobny, Niclas Jensen, Pearce.

Booked: Rosenior, Bocanegra.

Att: 19,101

Ref: M Riley (W Yorkshire).