‘How we haven’t won by five or six is a travesty’ - Morecambe boss Derek Adams’ direct assessment after Portsmouth stalemate

But the former Plymouth boss was disappointed his side were unable to pick-up a much-needed three points in their relegation battle.

It was an open affair between the two sides at the Mazuma Stadium with the Shrimps ultimately extending their unbeaten home record against the Blues.

The hosts took the lead midway through the first half through Liam Shaw, before Colby Bishop levelled 21 minutes into the second period.

Although Danny Cowley’s men held the majority of possession, Morecambe had 15 shots compared to Pompey’s 14.

And Adams believes it was a ‘travesty’ that his men were unable to convert those chances and find a winning edge.

He told the official Morecambe website: ‘How we haven’t won by five or six is a travesty.

‘I’ve played against Portsmouth many times in my career as a manager, and never had as many glaring opportunities as we had today.

‘We out-defended them, we outplayed them, we outran them and the chances we created were glaring, we should’ve won by a landslide, there’s no doubt about it.’

In what was a tough afternoon for Pompey, Josh Griffiths came to the rescue putting on a man-of-the-match display.

His heroics denied second half substitute Dylan Connolly a late chance to snatch the points in the 90th minute.

Adams highlighted Cowley’s number one’s performance but was ultimately proud of his side’s showing.

‘I’m very proud of the players today, I’m proud of the supporters because they were outstanding.

‘We should have had them dead and buried, and if anybody says differently, they’ve not got a clue about football.

‘The players gave their all and I thought they were fantastic over the afternoon.

‘The fans were fantastic, they kept our players going, they saw the chances we created, the way they worked, the way they ran forward.

‘Their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves, we’ve maybe not done well enough, but over the afternoon, the disappointing thing is not being able to win the game against Portsmouth, and that is hugely frustrating.’