It was always going to be a tense match and as a spectacle it wasn't great, Saints did their usual thing, had the best chances and then gave a goal away in a lapse of concentration, but the main thing for supporters of both sides was not to lose.

There was not an air of confidence around St Mary's at 7am on Sunday morning, most Southampton supporters I spoke to, where not predicting a win for their side, indeed the feeling was one foreboding of what was ahead.

The first coaches got away dead on time and thus the M27 derby day was finally underway, it was time for the talking to stop and the action on the field to take centre stage, Ok not quite time for the talking to stop, after all those on the first coaches arrived at Fratton Park some 2 3/4 hours before kick off.

As you would expect the atmosphere was electric at kick off with both sets of supporters raising the roof, Saints job was to dig in, quieten the crowd and then impose themselves and in the first half that was what they did and whilst their defence was rarely troubled, it took two great saves by the Pompey keeper to keep things level at the break.

Pompey had one tactic hump it forward at every opportunity and try to get under it, they will claim they were pressurising Saints, but the truth is we dealt with it quite easily.

You could see why James Bree had been recalled and brought in at right back, he added some height to a back four that Elias Jelert for all his talents could not do, both Bree and Welington were ideal in this type of game.

Aside from the two chances the only real moment of excitement in the half was when the Pompey fans in the front row of the North Stand seemed to try and pull a Saints player into the crowd, a scuffle ensued and stewards arrived, but they seemed scared to actually do anything, Pompey have form in this sort of thing, a Sunderland player being hauled into the stand a few years ago in roughly the same spot.

Around me some were critical of Finn Azaz but he was the man who called the shots, putting Adam Armstrong through for the best chance of the first half and then on 57 minutes repeating the trick for Leo Scienza.

In all honesty it was a terrible clearance from James Bree, he booted the ball high and seemingly directionless from the right back spot, it came down somewhere near the half way line on the left hand side, under it was Finn Azaz who brought it under control with one touch and then with his second touch played Leo Scienza in on goal.

Scienza finished with his usual aplomb, cutting across the chasing defender and then firing home to send the travelling Saints fans wild.

He seemed to take his celebrations over to that section of the North Stand that tried to haul him into the crowd in the first half.

You would have hoped that now Saints had the lead they would take control, a double change on 63 minutes looked good, Shea Charles to add steel to the midfield and also Tom Fellows for Matsuki, surely we would go on to win it now.

But the game swung when Leo Scienza had to go off with an injury, Jay Robinson came on and in truth was not the right player for the time, we needed someone to hold the ball up and that is not really his game.

But although Saints tried to play along the ground, for Pompey it was all about humping it forward and trying to win either corners or other dead ball situation and we paid the price in the 77th minute.

Perhaps a lapse of concentration, but a Pompey corner was flashed across the six yard box, you need the keeper to be big and strong in these situations, in the confusion it hit one of our players and came back across the goal and it was the blue shirt of Adams who headed home, although had their been VAR it would have been disallowed as it was a poor header on to his arm and then into the goal.

Either way Pompey were equal and you feared that the last part of the game might be a bit tricky.

In hindsight that turned out not to be the case, although we now never looked like winning it, our substitutions seemingly having knocked our rhythm, Pompey's hit and hood tactics might have shook the nerves a little, but never really trouble us.

This was a game that our players had to roll up their sleeves and get down in the dirt and show some fight and although it didn't look pretty that is what we did defensively, in a game where when Pompey had the ball it usually by passed the midfield.

So all honours even in a result that did little for either sides ambitions, it pulled Pompey out of the relegation zone, so a moral victory for them, but they are still in big trouble.

From a Southampton perspective it leaves us 7 points off the play offs and we are starting to slip behind the promotion hopefuls, we need a run of wins and we need the quickly, the play offs are not out of our reach just yet, but we have to start winning games and keep winning them.

Much has been made in the Pompey press that we haven't won at Fratton Park in the League in 50 years, that is true, but from a Saints perspective, Pompey haven't ever won at St Mary's in the League, indeed they have won just once in Southampton in the league last 62 years, that coming in January 1988, some 38 years ago.

This is a game that in the last half century doesn't happen very often and when it does is usually a draw.

The famous Portsmouth Atmosphere was not that impressive, it was good at times, but for long periods in was subdued, perhaps the problem was that Pompey fans were more concerned about hating all things Southampton than they were about supporting Portsmouth.

Onwards and hopefully upwards for Southampton, for Pompey I think they have a tough few months ahead.

All Photos Via Reuters