Portsmouth 0-0 Newcastle

Apr 13 2008 John Cairns Reports

NEWCASTLE gaffer Kevin Keegan hailed Pompey keeper David James after the England international pulled off some super saves to thwart the Magpies.

The draw sees Keegan's Toon revival continue as his side stretched their unbeaten run to five games but they could have won it had James not denied Michael Owen with an instinctive stop.

The Toon gaffer said: "There were lots of chances but a combination of good keeping and players being over hasty kept it at 0-0.

"James has had such a great season I think he could save it with his cap at the moment.

"A draw was right but a 0-0 draw - I'm not so sure."

Pompey were hoping to close the gap on fifth-placed Everton but Jermain Defoe missed their only two openings in the second-half.

Keegan welcomed Steven Taylor back from illness to stiffen his defence as they chased a fourth straight win.

Obafemi Martins tried his luck from 45-yards in the opening seconds but it was straight at James.

Cameroon star Geremi was next to test the vision of James in the strong sunlight with a free-kick but again the keeper was rock solid.

With three main strikers in Mark Viduka, Owen and Martins, Toon pressed and full-back Jose Enrique nipped past two challenges on the left to cut in and fire over from the edge of the area in 10 minutes.

Pompey's first shot on target came from Niko Kranjcar but it was straight at Steve Harper.

Defoe was kept under wraps by the Magpies back line in the first 20 minutes but almost timed his run to reach a pass by Sean Davis.

However, Harper came hurtling out to collect just inside the area.

Joey Barton led a break from his own half in the 28th minute and glided a pass into Viduka's path on the right but the Australian hit his first-time attempt just a little too hard for Martins.

There had been precious few incidents to excite the crowd but Martins made an impact in the 38th minute with a piledriver from 20 yards that was just too high.

Glen Johnson was booked for a trip on Enrique who was racing clear then Kanu had a penalty appeal turned down after his shot seemed to hit Taylor's arm.

There was a big escape for Newcastle in 52 minutes when Defoe's close-range volley slipped past the post.

That near miss inspired Pompey and five minutes later Johnson played a great one-two with Kanu and fired a shot that rebounded off Defoe and behind as the match petered out.

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp admitted after the match that his priorities now lie elsewhere.

He said: "I just want to win the FA Cup - that's all that matters now.

"If you said to me finish fifth or win the FA Cup I want to win the Cup."