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Match Report
Norwich v Portsmouth 02 October 2004
Spoils shared at Norwich
Norwich 2 - 2 Porstmouth
Norwich City are still awaiting their first Premiership victory of the season, but came from behind twice to claim a point in an exciting 2-2 draw against Portsmouth.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni gave the visitors a first half advantage, before a goal from Simon Charlton earned a point after the teams traded efforts from Darren Huckerby and Patrik Berger.
Both sides began brightly with each team pushing forward and winning corners within the opening minutes of the contest at Carrow Road.
The home fans thought they might have been awarded a penalty early on, however referee Matt Messias waved away appeals after Leon McKenzie went down in the area.
The striker, who was given a chance to impress by Nigel Worthington, went down under a challenge from David Unsworth, however the former Everton defender just won the ball.
Berger was inches from finding the back of the net shortly after, but his piledriver drifted over the bar and failed to dip enough to trouble Robert Green.
David Bentley then struck the outside of a post direct from a left-wing corner and Berger had his angles perfect as he ducked under the effort from out wide.
Yakubu tried his luck from range but fired wide while Diomansy Kamara ran superbly from the halfway line into Norwich's penalty box but dragged his effort off target.
Shortly afterwards, the visitors were in front when Yakubu sized on Green's rebound to turn Craig Fleming in the box and drill a low shot past the England keeper. Nigel Quashie created the chance as his long-range shot was too hot to handle for Green and he could only palm the stinging drive to Yakubu in the penalty area.
Bentley, The Canaries' main threat, tested Hislop from range before the break, following a short corner, however the experienced shot-stopper gathered easily.
The Canaries came out all guns blazing after the break, but after bursting into the box Damien Francis was unable to direct his effort on target.
Bentley did another trademark incisive run, however his effort was blocked in the area and, shortly afterwards, his first time effort was straight at Hislop.
Norwich were given the perfect chance to equalise on the hour mark when Messias pointed to the spot when Matthew Taylor felled Huckerby in the box. The former Leeds and Manchester City ace saw his initial shot saved, however the striker followed in his effort and toe-poked the effort past the despairing Hislop.
City's joy was short-lived when Berger lashed in an unstopped free-kick to restore the visitors' lead within minutes. The ball was rolled to the Czech star and he drilled a powerful effort past Green, who could only palm the ball into the roof of the net.
No sooner had Pompey regained their lead than the home side struck back through an unlikely source.
The visitors failed to clear a corner and Craig Drury's superb left sided cross was met by Charlton in the middle who glanced his header in at the far post for his first goal in nine years.
The half was in stark contrast to the first with an open end-to-end game now on display while heavy rain created slippery conditions for both teams.
The impressive Gary Holt was desperately unlucky not to give City the lead for the first time when his rasping 30-yard drive crashed off the crossbar to safety.
The midfielder was again next in line to try his luck, but from inside the area, his left-footed strike flew just wide of Hislop's far post.
Both sides will no doubt come away from the clash believing they could have claimed all three points, however a share of the spoils was the deserved result.
Report From  , For full report and stats, click here.
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