Match Report

Portsmouth v Newcastle 01 October 2005

Magpies frustrate Pompey

Portsmouth 0 - 0 Newcastle

Fratton Park witnessed a stalemate as a Newcastle side without their saviour Michael Owen held out against Alain Perrin's Portsmouth.

The French tactician is in desperate need of points although the nature of Pompey's first half performance should do much to please the former Marseille manager as his men showed verve and energy against the lacklustre Magpies.

Shay Given was in fantastic form for Graeme Souness's men as he tipped Matthew Taylor's shot onto the crossbar in the second half, but the draw will do little in terms of the Premiership table for either side.

Newcastle, denied the services of Owen, Titus Bramble and Kieron Dyer in the build up to the game, were a team lacking in inspiration and Pompey ran them ragged in the first half .

Perrin had his team playing some incisive one-touch football as they appeared eager to open the scoring, and deadline day signing Dario Silva looked the most likely to do so as he lifted a free kick over in the opening exchanges.

The impressive Zvonimir Vukic then chipped a wide ball to Gary O'Neil, who in turn fired in a first time cross that Silva struck at Given although the Newcastle keeper showed impressive reflexes to stretch out a leg and deny the Uruguayan.

Silva also had a shot blocked by youngster Steven Taylor as Pompey continued to exhibit a style of play that did not befit a side 16th in the league, and new boy Vukic was in the thick of things, being denied by a well-judged Jean-Alain Boumsong tackle in the box before firing over two minutes later.

Perrin had his men hunting in packs and they were again denied by the always-dependable Given as Silva took advantage of Taylor's slip to feed O'Neil, although the young midfielder saw his curling drive tipped to safety.

Souness's side were in truth dismal for the first half hour, with only a weak Alan Shearer shot to show for their efforts, but they improved towards the break and found an unwitting ally in Pompey keeper Jamie Ashdown.

Twice he failed to deal with Charles N'Zogbia's crosses and as one bounced out of his hands and the other was trapped fortuitously between his legs the Englishman must have been counting his blessings.

Matthew Taylor tried a long effort from range before The Magpies were handed a rare sight of goal before half time as Brian Priske headed out and Scott Parker volleyed wide.

Newcastle must have felt the full fury of Souness at half time and even after replacing Celestine Babayaro with Robbie Elliott, The Magpies still struggled to impose their will as Silva, under pressure from Boumsong, headed wide from a Vukic clipped cross.

The French stopper then did enough to put off Dejan Stefanovic from an O'Neil corner as Pompey desperately searched for the goal they richly deserved against a Newcastle side perhaps shell-shocked by Owen's absence.

Their malaise was typified by Shearer's trademark free kick rebounding harmlessly off the wall, although Elliott tried to inject some impetus with a long range volley that Ashdown gathered with ease.

Shola Ameobi was the man to fill Owen's considerable boots and he could only hit straight at Ashdown when handed the ball inside the box as Newcastle began to edge the initiative.

Souness's side were growing restless and predictably it was Lee Bowyer who let his frustrations get the better of him as he launched recklessly into Gregory Vignal.

The midfielder could conceivably have been shown the red card for the two-footed attempt but survived, and from the resulting free kick Silva appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty after being fed by Vignal.

Shearer hit the wall with a free kick again before Pompey began to recover the danger they displayed in the first half through Taylor, as the left-sided star saw his close-range shot somehow tipped onto the bar by a fantastic reflex save from Given.

The Newcastle keeper then repelled Taylor's header from the resultant corner as Perrin's men applied late pressure to the Newcastle goal, although they did little to help their cause when Priske committed a blatant handball on the edge of his own area with Bowyer chasing.

The Pompey faithful were baying for a winner and thought they had been gifted the chance as Vukic was felled in the box by Given after an exquisite one-two with substitute Frank Songo'o.

However the midfielder was rightly shown the yellow card for simulation as the game ended in a result that really benefited neither party.

Portsmouth	Team Name	Newcastle
0	Goals	0
6	Shots on target ( Inc Goals )	1
4	Shots off Target (inc woodwork)	3
1	Blocked Shots	3
5	Corners Won	5
14	Total Fouls Conceded	12
2	Offsides	6
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
55%	Possession	45%

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