West Ham were lucky to escape with a draw at Fratton Park when they clashed with Portsmouth in a Premiership game on Saturday. West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green was instrumental in the Hammers salvaging a point from the game because he effected a fine penalty save from Zimbabwe striker Mwaruwari.

Otherwise the game was a dreary affair especially in the second half where neither team appeared to be pushing for a win. Pompey made a fine start though with Niko Kranjcar's shot requiring Green to be on high alert. Pedro Mendes, Kranjcar and Benjani targeted the West Ham goal, but were unable to break the deadlock.

On 35 minutes, Kranjcar came close after collecting Hermann Hreidarsson's pass, but shot in a hurry and was unable to find the target. West Ham's Nolberto Solano then made a costly miss as he headed wide in front of an open goal.

West Ham manager Alan Curbishley replaced Craig Bellamy with Matthew Etherington after the break, but the move made no difference. Cole hoodwinked Sol Campbell and fired a shot, which hit the woodwork and rebounded to Solano who somehow missed an open goal.

Kanu then tested Green with a blistering drive, but the Hammers' keeper did well to save. In the last minutes, Danny Gabbidon was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box by referee Mike Dean. However Green was on hand to rescue West Ham and both teams had to be satisfied with one point each.

Portsmouth are seventh on the Premier League table with 19 points from 11 games, while West Ham are 11th with 14points from 11 games.