Pompey held by City

Manchester City remain third and Portsmouth sixth in the table following a goalless draw at Fratton Park.

City rearguard denies Pompey at Fratton Park

Manchester City remain third and Portsmouth sixth in the Premier League table following a goalless draw at Fratton Park. Pompey made a blistering start to the South Coast contest and were denied a possible penalty when Richard Dunne held back Kanu in the area. Glen Johnson thought his goal-bound shot was destined to nestle in the net before Joe Hart's superb save tipped the effort on to the crossbar. City could have forged ahead through Darius Vassell in the second half, but he made a hash of a finish with the goal gaping from Martin Petrov's cross. Pompey were inches from stealing all three points when substitute David Nugent's deflected shot struck the inside of the bar as the contest finished goalless. Pompey were first into their stride in an absorbing first half. Benjani headed over from Johnson's cross; Kanu's fierce shot from a Benjani pass forced Hart to push aside for a corner, and then Sean Davis fired narrowly over - all inside the first three minutes. More Benjani magic down the right soon forced another corner, but Hart confidently caught Niko Kranjcar's delivery.

Goal-bound

Davis had to make a good block to deny a goal-bound shot from outside the area by Gelson, whose first pass had a been a beauty down the left - which the overlapping Javier Garrido failed to capitalise upon. Kranjcar's shot was just too high after a lovely exchange between Sulley Muntari and Noe Pamarot - but at the other end David James had to be alert to smother Martin Petrov's zipping left-wing cross. While Kanu and Benjani formed a double spearhead in attack for Portsmouth, Darius Vassell foraged on his own up front for City - with Elano and Petrov quick to support him. Johnson's low blast on 20 minutes was another test for Hart. But he held on well, and City were happy to keep Pompey at long range. When they got closer Richard Dunne executed a vital tackle - at the expense of a painful knock - on Kranjcar, who was just about to shoot from Kanu's lay-off. Dunne was left exposed by City's first serious slip in defence on 34 minutes when, with Kanu causing havoc and backing in, Dietmar Hamann gave the ball away to Johnson. The right-back surged past Dunne to hit a cracker which Hart superbly palmed against the bar and away. After Vassell was ruled offside trying to put the finishing touches to an Elano-Petrov link, Kranjcar cut in from the left and drilled a low drive that was deflected beyond Hart but also his far post. Petrov should have done better at the other end on 40 minutes, shooting straight at former City goalkeeper James after being left unmarked 18 yards out to hit a Vassell cross from the right. Benjani's battle with returning England ace Micah Richards was a superb contest, punctuated by handshakes with both players electing to put the gloves on against the November chill.

Weakness

The only apparent weakness for Pompey was on the right, where John Utaka failed to shine after a glorious solo strike at Newcastle last week. Old favourite Matt Taylor replaced him for the second half, to loud cheers. Taylor's header just missed, but it was a big blow for Pompey when Kanu limped off just after the hour - even though Nugent did his best to become the hero. His thundering shot in the 72nd minute came back off a post and miraculously did not hit the diving Hart as it rebounded clear. Earlier, Vassell had the chance to win it when he slid in on Petrov's cross from another delicious ball by Elano - only for ex-City defender Sylvain Distin to do just enough to put off is old team-mate. Distin was booked for pulling down the increasingly lively Vassell just before Nugent's near-miss, but Petrov's free-kick was a damp squib Nugent, still looking for his first Premier League goal, featured again when he slipped Johnson in for a shot which Hart at first fumbled. But the goalkeeper still had the presence of mind to get up and foil Benjani's follow-up.

Portsmouth	Team Statistics	Manchester City
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
7	Shots on Target	4
10	Shots off Target	6
8	Blocked Shots	1
9	Corners	1
10	Fouls	8
4	Offsides	3
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
71.2	Passing Success	77.9
31	Tackles	34
71	Tackles Success	67.6
46.3	Possession	53.7
59.4	Territorial Advantage	40.6