David Sommeil scored a last minute equaliser to earn Manchester City a point from the first Premiership game at their new City of Manchester Stadium.
For long periods Kevin Keegan's side had looked likely to open their new home as they closed the old - with a 1-0 Premiership defeat - a result that wouldn't have flattered a well-organised Pompey side.
The home side dominated the possession in the second half, but rarely looked capable of cancelling out Yakubu Ayegbeni's first half goal for Portsmouth.
That was until Pompey's defending for once let them down with just five seconds of normal time remaining, as Joey Barton flighted a free-kick into the penalty area and Sommeil rose unchallenged to power a header beyond Shaka Hislop.
Pompey had taken the lead after 24 minutes with the first significant action of the game as Yakubu took advantage of a kind ricochet to race clear of the City defence, take the ball around David Seaman and roll in a simple goal.
From then on Harry Redknapp's game-plan was clear, the Pompey boss content for his side to snuff out the threat of Nicolas Anelka and Antoine Sibierski and soak up the pressure.
Only on occasions did City threaten to find a way back into the game as Amdy Faye and Dejan Stefanovic kept shackles on their creative talent, with Shaun Wright-Phillips coming closest to scoring with a devastating burst from the halfway line that finished with a low shot that was inches wide.
Arjan de Zeeuw almost turned Anelka's cross into his own goal and Hislop was called into action to fist away Michael Tarnat's stinging free-kick.
Then came the decisive moment, with Sommeil heading the equaliser, and City almost snatched an undeserved winner in injury time when Wright-Phillips' shot deflected off substitute Paulo Wanchope and fell agonisingly wide of the post.
Man-of-the-match: Amdy Faye (Portsmouth) Worked tirelessly to keep City quiet.
Report From , For full report and stats, click here.
