Tigers and Pompey play out draw

Hull City and Portsmouth took a share of the spoils with a 0-0 draw at the KC Stadium.

No goals in a game of very few chances

Hull City and Portsmouth took a share of the spoils with a 0-0 draw at the KC Stadium, while Glen Johnson saw red late on. Younes Kaboul spurned the best chance of the game during the first half when he headed over from close range, while Craig Fagan forced a point-blank save out of David James for Hull's only real effort of note. The game was a fairly high-paced affair, but both sides suffered from a lack of cutting edge up front and the final score came as little surprise to the watching fans. Drama did erupt late on when Johnson received his second yellow for an innocuous challenge, and the last touch of the game saw Hermann Hreidarsson stike the post with a header. Ultimately a stalemate will do little to ease the relegation worries of either side, but the opposing managers are likely to look back at a game where - most importantly - nothing was lost in the race for survival.

Opening exchanges

Portsmouth had the first attempt on goal but Peter Crouch's acrobatic volley did not match his midweek effort against Ukraine, flying high and wide. Niko Kranjcar then played a nice ball for David Nugent as the visitors sought an early breakthrough but the offside flag was raised. Johnson then won a free-kick on the right after clashing with Craig Fagan, although he was fortunate not to be booked then for his angry reaction. Kranjcar crossed from the resulting set-piece only for Andy Dawson to head away and then clear at the second attempt. Hull enjoyed some good possession too and looked to whip in early crosses without being able to trouble the Portsmouth defence or goalkeeper James. Geovanni had a shooting opportunity from 20 yards but missed the target and Manucho also volleyed over from a Bernard Mendy cross. Johnson then did see yellow after going to ground in a tangle with Kamil Zayatte and kicking out at the Hull defender. He courted more controversy little more than a minute later for a crude challenge on Geovanni but was given just a warning by referee Chris Foy. Geovanni swung the resulting free-kick into the area but his cross just beat the head of Manucho and Pompey hacked clear. Enjoying a good spell, Hull then won another free-kick on the left and James had to punch away a dangerous Geovanni cross.

Kaboul chance

Portsmouth survived that period on the back foot and missed a fine chance to take the lead when Crouch nodded on a Kranjcar corner and Kaboul headed over from close range. Hull continued to deliver crosses at every opportunity and a good centre by Mendy almost picked out Nick Barmby early in the second half. Portsmouth responded in the same way but Nugent headed over from a Crouch delivery. But then Johnson almost played his side into trouble just after the hour when he headed back into his own area and Fagan pounced, only for James to brilliantly palm away the forward's powerful header. Portsmouth soon came forward once again with Zayatte forced to clear behind for a corner and Kranjcar blazing across the face of goal.

Late drama

Johnson was finally given his marching orders after 80 minutes after colliding with Hull substitute Marney, but this time he seemed to have been the innocent party. The Pompey defender was running across the edge of the Hull area when Marney appeared to catch the Portsmouth player in his attempt to clear. But having previously warned Johnson for earlier indiscipline, Foy had no hesitation this time in taking out a second yellow card. Hull tried to take advantage of the situation and sent on Republic of Ireland striker Caleb Folan but Pompey went the closest to snatching a winner when Hreidarsson's last-gasp header shaved the woodwork.

Hull City	Team Statistics	Portsmouth
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
1	Shots on Target	1
8	Shots off Target	4
1	Blocked Shots	0
1	Corners	4
14	Fouls	14
4	Offsides	3
0	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	1
69.2	Passing Success	65.5
17	Tackles	30
76.5	Tackles Success	80
52.8	Possession	47.2
52.3	Territorial Advantage	47.7