Jermain Defoe scored on his Pompey debut to give Pompey their first Premier League point against Chelsea in ten attempts after a fantastic game at Fratton Park.
Both sides created plenty of chances in a match that could have gone either way, but we weren't helped by Howard Webb who gave Chelsea virtually everything and denied any penalty claim we made, and I'm certain that we should have had at least one.
Noe Pamarot hit the post with a header in the first half from the corner that should have been a penalty as Belletti handled in the box. I mean if I could see it from the far end of the Fratton End then surely Howard Webb or his assistants could? Nope...
Mind you, we could have been behind before the break as Kranjcar cleared Ballack's header off the line and Anelka's shot was well saved by James and Ashley Cole "Quashied" the rebound over.
Just a quick word about Cashley, but anyone who is stupid enough to cheat on one of the best looking women in the country deserves the stick he got today, and it would seem the "Where's your Cheryl gone?" chants got to him as he didn't perform well and threw a hissy fit in the second half.
The second half was even better than the first with both sides showing that they weren't going to settle for a point and both were doing so by playing good football.
Milan Baros squandered a great opportunity to score on his debut and then Webb waved away yet another penalty claim after it looked like Makelele had handled in the box and then all of a sudden the ball was in the back of our net as Chelsea's front three were lightning quick on the counter attack and Anelka finished off the move which just angered the home crowd even more.
Still, the frowns turned to cheers soon after as Jermain Defoe, wearing the number 14 shirt, scored his debut goal after David James' punt upfield saw Defoe race onto it and slot past Cech. I thought Defoe might have been offside but it seems that Belletti was playing him on.
Defoe should have had another too, as he found himself one-on-one with Cech but his chip was put agonisingly wide when he looked certain to score again. Having said that, Shaun Wright-Phillips did virtually the same thing at the other end almost immediately after Defoe's miss.
Hermann Hreidarsson should have scored with a header from a corner but Chelsea almost nicked all three points but Ballack's header was well saved by James at the end as both sides had to settle for a point that neither will be too unhappy with given the manner of such a pulsating game.
Every player in a Pompey shirt gave their all today and I am proud of what I would say was our best performance since we hammered Reading 7-4.
Lassana Diarra was a class above everyone else on the pitch today. His passing was immaculate, his tackling was superb and the fans appreciated his all-action display that makes his £5 million price tag seem like a snip.
As for the debutants, Defoe looked lively in the second half but will be rueing missing that easy chance. He does look like a predator though and I'm sure he will score plenty of goals for us.
Milan Baros worked really hard and his runs caused the Chelsea defence to open up, though unfortunately the Czech striker kept running too far at times and ended up losing the ball. It was still a good debut nonetheless.
Special mentions for Hermann Hreidarsson who looks much more comfortable in the centre and Noe Pamarot also played quite well. Niko Kranjcar saved us a goal and gave the Chelsea backline plenty to think about and Richard Hughes also did a good job when breaking up play in the centre.
I think in the end that a draw was a fair result, especially considering that most Pompey fans feel that we were playing against twelve men today.
That ruined what was a great game between two very good sides but I'm thankful for the point and hopefully we can start to move up the table again now that the "big four" are out of the way.
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 8 - Made some crucial saves, especially that final catch.
Glen Johnson: 7 - Supported the attack well.
Sol Campbell: 7 - Getting back to his best.
Hermann Hreidarsson: 7 - Looked much better in the centre.
Noe Pamarot: 7 - Unlucky not to score.
Sean Davis: 7 - Battled hard.
Richard Hughes: 7 - Did his job well.
Lassana Diarra: 9 - Outstanding performance, best player on the pitch.
Niko Kranjcar: 7 - Posed plenty of problems.
Milan Baros: 7 - Worked very hard.
Jermain Defoe: 8 - Lively and scored on his debut. Will regret not taking that great opportunity to win it though.
Substitutes
Jamie Ashdown
Lauren
Lucien Aubey
Arnold Mvuemba: 7 - Settled into the game nicely.
Pedro Mendes