10-man Pompey frustrate Blackburn in dour draw

Portsmouth produced determined rearguard action to earn a 0-0 draw against Blackburn on Saturday despite Anthony Vanden Borre’s dismissal.

Avram Grant’s beleaguered team were reduced to 10 men on the hour when Vanden Borre was sent off for a second bookable offence.

The red card, which rules Belgium defender Vanden Borre out of next weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham, could have shattered Portsmouth’s already fragile morale.

But the Premier League’s bottom club, already destined for relegation after a 10-point deduction for going into administration, dug deep to earn a point which fought off official confirmation of the drop into the Championship for the moment.

Grant went into the game without 13 first-team regulars and was forced to pad his six-man substitutes’ bench with youth team players.

They added another injury worry to their list after four minutes, when makeshift centre back Aaron Mokoena pulled up with a twisted knee.

With Grant’s options so limited on the bench, the South African midfielder knew he had to stay on the pitch and performed well out of position.

On-loan Pompey midfielder Jamie O’Hara, who sat out last Saturday’s trip to his parent club Tottenham, nearly marked his return to the side with a goal after 28 minutes.

Kanu found John Utaka in space on the left and the Nigerian picked out O’Hara, but his header was beautifully nodded off the line by Gael Givet.

Blackburn took over after that and David Dunn came within inches of giving them the lead when his low left-footed strike from the left corner of the box hit the outside of the far post.

Rovers should have gone ahead before the break when a Mortem Gamst Pedersen free kick found Christopher Samba unmarked in the box but his header hit a post.

Pompey started the second half more impressively, but their efforts to take charge suffered a crushing blow on the hour, when they were reduced to ten men by referee Steve Bennett.

Vanden Borre was booked shortly before the break for a foul on Blackburn’s Steven Nzonzi.

Grant will have been fuming to then see him blatantly handle a ball down the Pompey flank and receive a cheap second yellow card.

Sam Allardyce’s men threw bodies forward in search of a winner. But a string of balls into the Pompey box failed to trouble the home side and Nwankwo Kanu nearly made Rovers pay for their wastefulness when he shot over in the 85th minute.