Pompey and Newcastle draw

In what was a strangely subdued encounter, neither team could capitalise on the other's defensive fallibility.

Jermain Defoe and Michael Owen missed glorious second-half chances to win the game, and James yet again bemused his critics with a pair of sublime saves accompanied by his customary moments of the ridiculous.

Portsmouth had the better of a largely uneventful first half, which offered little in the way of entertainment aside from a wonderful moment of James hilarity – the PFA player of the year nominee missing his kick as he rushed across to the right-back position.

As the first 45 minutes drew to a close the game finally produced its first incident of note, when Steven Taylor's clearance bounced up onto his arm. Despite keen penalty appeals from the Portsmouth players and their manager, the referee rightly decided contact was accidental and waved play on.

Barely a minute later Newcastle twice threatened to compound the home side's disappointment. Their first chance came courtesy of Nicky Butt's clipped right-wing cross, which found Mark Viduka in space, only for the Australian striker to shoot weakly at James. Almost immediately afterwards Taylor's spectacular acrobatic effort flew just past the post.

With the second half came a marginally more adventurous approach from both sides, and the opportunity for James to redeem himself.

The 37-year-old saved smartly from Obafemi Martins on the hour mark, before denying Owen from point-blank range ten minutes later – the England striker somehow failing to score after Sylvain Distin's miscued clearance gave him the most straightforward of opportunities.

For Portsmouth, who mustered a paltry total of two shots on target, their best chance arrived early in the second half and fell to Owen's rival for an international berth, Defoe.

Papa Bouba Diop was the provider, driving down Pompey's left before supplying an exquisite cross inviting the forward to volley home. Instead, he sent his effort wide and with it went the home side's chances of winning the game.

As the game petered out, both sides appeared content to share the spoils and enjoy the relative comfort of their Premier League security.

For Newcastle, a rare clean sheet away from home makes it five games unbeaten and the belated Kevin Keegan revolution gathers pace.

Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth, meanwhile, may well have minds elsewhere following last week's FA Cup semi-final defeat of West Bromwich Albion. While their fans may have endured an uninspired performance from the team in this fixture, chants of "We're going to Wembley" rung out long after the final whistle sounded.

These are days filled with hope for both Portsmouth and Newcastle, it's a shame neither turned up for this fixture.