Stoke 2 - Pompey 2
For so long two hugging hippos had provided all the entertainment. Then came the late Britannia Stadium drama.
Those eventful last 15 minutes not only transformed a dreadful match but made a villain out of little-known referee Mike Jones and swelled Icelander Hermann Hreidarsson's cult following.
Then, of course, there was the gloating James Beattie and his unwavering mission to become the most hated man in Portsmouth.
To think the previous 75 minutes had been comfortably eclipsed in the amusement stakes by the sight of Stoke City's mascots embracing, sharing kisses and holding hands on pitch before kick-off.
It appears anything goes at a club which also has advertising hoardings raising awareness of Chlamydia.
Yet for all the late flurry, the allocation of the points remained the same at the final whistle as it had previously in a lifeless 0-0.
Except, for Pompey, the barnstorming finish gave so much more satisfaction than any clean-sheet stalemate.
It proved once and for all the fight is unquestionably there for the relegation battle they find themselves embroiled in.
And it's a precious positive to take after so much last-gasp heartache which has put them in the predicament they currently find themselves in the first place.
Points in the hands of Pompey late in the game have been as safe as the FA Cup in the presence of E:ON at an FA Cup Trophy Tour.
Invariably, on such occasions everything has come crashing down to earth with a rather sizeable bump.
But on Saturday the long-standing hoodoo was finally buried.
This time around it was the Blues sneaking home with a point snatched at the death. How sweet it was, too.
And it was a magnificent declaration of the renewed appetite for the fight within this side that they managed to force their way back from a dreadful refereeing mistake to level in such dramatic circumstances.
Facing becoming another statistic in the glorious home form of Stoke, the match entered four minutes of stoppage time.
Then Hreidarsson swung his right boot, similarly Ryan Shawcross swung his right boot, and Pompey had grabbed a crucial draw.
That's three in three games now for Hreidarsson, well in terms of bookings anyway.
Unfortunately, he has little chance of being credited with the actual goal, such was Shawcross' immeasurable influence.
Not that it matters in the grand scale of things, the result keeping Paul Hart's men three points ahead of relegation rivals Stoke.
As for Hreidarsson, he is fast emerging as a key figure in this fight for survival he so relishes.
The veteran left-back epitomises the passion and desire required at a time of the season when clubs begin the slow descent towards the Championship.
He has been relegated with every Premier League club he's served – apart from Pompey.
And don't expect his current employers to follow suit after a positive showing at the Britannia Stadium provided another reason why there is no hurry to replace Hart and Brian Kidd at the helm.
Aston Villa, Arsenal and Spurs have all perished at Stoke's home this season, while Liverpool shared a goalless draw.
As for runaway leaders Manchester United, they escaped with a 1-0 triumph thanks to a goal seven minutes from time from Carlos Tevez.
As devoid of ideas and creativity as Saturday's match may have been, Pompey remained solid throughout, never looking like conceding.
Granted, their wild and often reckless passing failed to carve out goalscoring opportunities at the other end.
Nonetheless, there is an undoubted solidity about their play during this post-Tony Adams era.
Had the previous boss managed to replicate what Hart and Kidd have brought to the table he would still be in the job right now.
At the heart of it was Sylvain Distin and Sol Campbell, the impenetrable pairing of last season upon Pompey's recent successes have been built upon.
Their startling decline in performances under Adams contributed heavily towards just four wins in 22 matches during his reign.
The Blues may have shipped two goals yesterday, but the duo were simply magnificent against an aerial bombardment and the power and strength of Mama Sidibe and Beattie.
Not forgetting behind them, David James' dominance in the air and faultless handling saw him effortlessly claim every catch he went for.
In a match robbed of goalscoring opportunities, the contribution from the England keeper was as priceless as several one-on-one stops.
The transformation of such cornerstones in the Pompey side should be credited to Hart and Kidd and, with four points from two games, they are rapidly heading towards being appointed until the end of the season.
It's an announcement which has a certain inevitability about it following Sacha Gaydamak's shock training ground appearance on Thursday.
Pompey's owner attends their Eastleigh base even less than football matches these days, and that's saying something.
But a 20-minute chat with Peter Storrie, Hart and Kidd that day suggests it wasn't merely a polite visit to introduce himself to the newly-arrived former Manchester United number two.
Days later, the temporary duo did their reputations no harm at all with that last-gasp Stoke point.
If the point was welcome, however, spare a thought for the sizeable away following that had to sit through 75 minutes of dross to experience those late, late thrills.
Up to that moment, neither keeper had a shot to save as both sides struggled to create anything meaningful.
Then it burst into life, David Nugent feeding Kranjcar who calmly slotted the ball left-footed past the approaching Thomas Sorensen.
Just minutes later and Glen Johnson was pulled up for a handball, a dreadful decision from referee Jones.
Beattie made no mistake from the spot – and two minutes later netted a second at close range having been played onside by Hreidarsson.
There was late drama to come, however, as the Icelandic international carved out a precious equaliser at the other end of the pitch in stoppage time.
A point it was then and another point towards Premier League safety.
It remains to be seen whether Hart and Kidd have also taken another step – this time towards a permanent managerial position.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
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Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
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