Portsmouth 0-0 Liverpool, Kanu's penalty missed

	Portsmouth 0 - 0 Liverpool 32' Nwankwo Kanu (pen miss) 0 - 0
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Jose Reina's first-half penalty save from Kanu and missed sitters by Portsmouth's John Utaka and Sulley Muntari let Liverpool off the hook in a scoreless scrap at Fratton Park, where Rafael Benitez's side had been beaten on three of their last five visits.

When Spain international Reina plunged to stop Kanu's spot-kick in the 31st minute after referee Mike Riley pointed to the spot for Alvaro Arbeloa's tug on the Nigerian's shirt, Liverpool should have gone on and wrapped up another victory to take them clear at the top of the Premier League.

But although dangerous Ukrainian Andriy Voronin hit the bar and then was inches from a winner late on, it was Pompey who spurned the biggest opportunities.

After taking just one point from meetings with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, this was their chance to pull down a top-four giant, but their finishing let them down.

Despite the 6-0 destruction of Derby which put Liverpool top of the division, manager Benitez swapped over his main strikers, going in with former Pompey star Peter Crouch's first league start of the season alongside Voronin.

Portsmouth's £6million striker, David Nugent, and Croatia midfielder Nico Kranjcar also had to be content with places on the bench, but on a hot, sticky afternoon and in front of a packed Fratton Park crowd it was still not a bad place to be.

With only three minutes on the clock, Pompey keeper David James had to be alert to go down and turn away a fierce shot by Yossi Benayoun for a corner.

At the other end, Pompey's giant debutant, Papa Bouba Diop, was head and shoulders above all challengers to meet Sean Davis's free-kick with his head but could not direct his effort on target.

Muntari appeared to be fouled by Xabi Alonso when Liverpool broke up a Portsmouth attack and pressed forward in the 10th minute. Voronin battled for possession and squared his pass for Alonso to drive not far over from 30 yards.

But it needed another fine save by James to keep out Liverpool seven minutes later when Mohamed Sissoko's pass put Crouch in for an angled shot which the keeper stopped with a strong left wrist.

Pompey were relieved when Alonso's free-kick from 25 yards crashed into their defensive wall after Mali midfielder Sissoko went down too easily from a tangle with Muntari, but Liverpool looked full of scoring options in the first 25 minutes.

Yet it was Pompey who almost broke the deadlock when Benjani's powerful low drive caught a deflection off Alvaro Arbeloa which took it out for a corner.

It was Arbeloa who was judged by referee Riley to have tugged Kanu's shirt just inside the area as they jockeyed for possession and the Spaniard was, of course, most grateful to compatriot Reina for a spectacular plunge that kept out Kanu's spot-kick.

Liverpool might have been expected to push on from there and take the game by the scruff of the neck, but they failed to make another worthwhile chance before the break.

Indeed, after Crouch brilliantly back-heeled a Steve Finnan pass just over James' bar, they had a couple of major escapes.

First, £7million Utaka, with all the goal to aim at after Diop forced the ball through, slashed his effort wide with only Reina to beat in the 52nd minute.

Then the goal was gaping again when energetic £7.2million record buy Muntari hooked Kanu's lay-back off target.

In between, Voronin's half-volley clipped the bar when Pompey were caught napping at the back, but even the arrival of £23million Torres and midweek England hero Gerrard from the bench for the last half-hour failed to do the trick.

That was despite Gerrard robbing a dithering Diop, who had been booked before the penalty, to send the Spaniard sprinting in to shoot high and wide.

The pace was unrelenting and just before the end Voronin was inches away from converting a Torres cross, but defeat for battling Pompey would have been a sad injustice.

Harry Redknapp was the happier of the two managers after Portsmouth's goalless draw with Liverpool at Fratton Park - even though his side missed a first-half penalty.

Kanu saw his spot-kick saved by Jose Reina after having his shirt pulled by Alvaro Arbeloa while John Utaka and Sulley Muntari missed good chances in the second half against the below-par visitors.

'It was an even game. We had a couple of great chances. For Kanu's penalty, when you get the chance you have to stick it away against Liverpool and if we had got in front I'm sure we would have gone and won the the game,' said Redknapp.

'But if you take a point from the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal you are never going to complain because they are top teams.'

The Portsmouth boss also paid tribute to man of the match Papa Bouba Diop on his first appearance for the club.

'I thought Diop was fantastic - what a debut. I have always been a fan of his. He is big and he has got a presence about him.'

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, who decided to leave captain Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel on the bench until the second half after their spells on international duty, put on a brave face.

'I think we played well. We played a good counter-attack. I think they had one or two clear chances from mistakes and I cannot complain [about the penalty],' he said.

The Spaniard also defended his decision to rest his major players.

'In the first half we were better than them. That means the players were doing a good job,' he said.

Source: Soccernet.com