Hull 0-0 Portsmouth: Bargain basement battle serves up suitably scrappy fare
Published 17:09 24/10/09 By By MirrorFootball
Fellow strugglers Hull and Portsmouth settled for a point apiece from a dismal Barclays Premier League basement scrap this afternoon.
Chances were few and far between as both sides struggled for inspiration at the KC Stadium.
The best opening fell to bottom side Pompey just after the hour as Aruna Dindane and Hassan Yebda were denied by Boaz Myhill.
Hull were almost caught out inside the first minute once the game got under way.
Tommy Smith outpaced Kamil Zayatte to reach an Aruna Dindane flick-on but the former Watford forward dragged his shot across goal.
Geovanni curled a free-kick over as Hull responded while a later set-piece from Stephen Hunt wide on the right wrong-footed everyone in the box except goalkeeper Dave James.
Brazilian playmaker Geovanni, starting in an advanced role, looked Hull's most threatening player and created a shooting opportunity for Dean Marney by cutting inside Steve Finnan but the midfielder fired narrowly over.
Aaron Mokoena tried his luck for Pompey from outside the area but missed the target by a long way.
The recalled Seyi Olofinjana then almost gifted Smith a chance with a poor touch but Andy Dawson got back into the box to spare his blushes.
In one of few enterprising pieces of play, Olofinjana clipped a clever ball into the Pompey area but it was just out of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's reach.
Smith turned to shoot from a Dindane ball at the other end but Paul McShane blocked.
Marney had another chance before the break but his shot was deflected for a corner.
Tensions appeared to spill over for Hull as the players left the field at the interval, with a camera briefly capturing a heated exchange between goalkeeper Boaz Myhill and a team-mate.
Marney had the first chance of the second half when a corner found its way to him 20 yards out but again he blazed off target.
Hunt then lofted in a free-kick looking for Gardner but England goalkeeper James rose to claim.
Hull appealed for a penalty when Geovanni was picked out by Olofinjana and went down under a challenge from James but referee Stuart Attwell waved play on.
The best chance of the game fell to Dindane just after the hour as an O'Hara free-kick bounced kindly in front of goal.
The Ivorian, looking to make amends for a dreadful double miss against Tottenham last week, hit a crisp shot but Myhill saved.
The ball rebounded back to Dindane but this time his own team-mate, Younes Kaboul, got in the way of his follow-up effort.
Portsmouth kept up the pressure as Hassan Yebda slid in to reach a Kevin-Prince Boateng cross but Myhill clawed the ball away.
The frustration among Hull's support was evident when Hunt was replaced by Richard Garcia after 74 minutes, the majority clearly unhappy at the removal of the Irishman.
Nick Barmby, who also came off the bench, had a chance late on but James easily claimed his header.
Myhill presented Pompey with a late opportunity after losing the ball and then tripping Boateng outside the area but O'Hara put his free-kick over.
