Injured Ian Pearce claimed a dramatic late Fulham equaliser after Niko Kranjcar's first goal in English football had raised Portsmouth's hopes of their first away win since West Ham on Boxing Day.

Defender Pearce was carried off in the 66th minute with a knee injury after Fulham had used all three substitutes.

But he came back on and went forward to get on the end of ex-Pompey star Alexey Smertin's solo run, crashing the ball home via a deflection off Linvoy Primus.

Manager Chris Coleman had replaced Brian McBride, Papa Bouba Diop and Tomasz Radzinski in a bid to find an equaliser after Kranjcar struck in just four minutes.

The £2.5 million youngster from Hadjuk Split, who arrived at Fratton Park in the summer but has been in and out of the side, measured a superb 20-yard shot beyond Antti Niemi after Kanu flicked a header left from Primus' free-kick.

Fulham were keen to end a run of five games without a win, knowing three points would virtually ensure their top-flight future for another season.

Their response to going behind forced Portsmouth to fend off some early raids with Sol Campbell and Dejan Stefanovic both stretched to clear. But for Fulham it was a nasty reminder of Gary O'Neil's early strike in Pompey's 3-1 win at Craven Cottage last season.

Kranjcar's fine effort was also Pompey's first goal in four games but it needed a cool save by the bearded David James five minutes later when Radzinski volleyed a ball that came out of a ruck of players.

Franck Queudrue's well-timed intervention in the box stopped Benjani Mwaruwari breaking onto O'Neil's shrewd pass on 17 minutes for a second Pompey goal but within seconds James had to scramble away Michael Brown's low shot.

Coleman's plans were brutally disrupted when seconds after Collins John came as the third sub for striker McBride, Pearce collapsed with knee trouble and had to play through pain for the last 20 minutes.

By then, O'Neil could have sealed it for Pompey but took far too long to size up a pass from Mwaruwari, who had taken an age to spot his team-mate was unmarked in the centre of the area.

McBride had made contact with a cross from Liam Rosenior to produce a moment of hope for Fulham but James dealt easily with his prod at goal.

Vincenzo Montella was another Fulham sub, replacing Radzinski and cheering fans after his three-match suspension which followed four goals in nine appearances.

But he, too, was off target after John's run and cross from the left and even missed from five yards later when he was clearly offside.

Teams:

Fulham Niemi, Rosenior, Pearce, Bocanegra, Queudrue, Smertin,Davies, Brown, Diop (Routledge 57), McBride (John 65),Radzinski (Montella 62).

Subs Not Used: Lastuvka, Helguson.

Booked: Brown.

Goals: Pearce 90.

Portsmouth James, Lauren, Campbell, Primus, Stefanovic,O'Neil, Hughes, Davis, Kranjcar (Taylor 61),Mwaruwari (Mvuemba 83), Kanu (Todorov 80).

Subs Not Used: Ashdown, LuaLua.

Goals: Kranjcar 4.

Att: 22,806

Ref: M Riley (W Yorkshire).