Wigan 0-0 Portsmouth - The Daily Mirror match report

Avram Grant risked the wrath of the Premier League by sending out a reserve team - but left Roberto Martinez facing the music for failing to punish them.

Portsmouth chief Grant ignored the rules and the authorities he despises but his makeshift side still managed to put up enough resistance to add to Wigan's woes.

The condemned men dragged Latics deeper into the mire and had the home fans baying at their young boss and his struggling team who are now anxiously short of safety.

Pompey made eight changes from the side that reached the FA Cup final, some understandable but others clearly with two fingers up.

Joel Ward and Matthew Ritchie came in for their debuts and possibly even at the start of their bid for a Wembley place.

Naming just four subs and lacking a second keeper in the travelling party smacked of cheek as much as financial hardship. However, Pompey are seemingly past caring about the Premier authorities.

In fairness, many of the new faces are experienced players who were part of the excessive spending that put Portsmouth in trouble in the first place. This was far from a team of kids.

The likes of John Utaka and Papa Boub Diop cost a lot of money in their time and are still being paid handsomely, so there should be no real complaints elsewhere about the decision.

Grant rapped: "I suggest to the Premier League that they don't ask us any questions. They can't ask us anything. They left us with this squad. They need to answer the questions.

"I could see this happening. We were only allowed to bring in one player and they pushed us to sell four when the squad was not big enough either.

"I had injuries and some tiredness. Most of them were injured in the semi-final and some have only been playing at 60 or 70 per cent. It wasn't good for them, they have been giving everything."

And while the pressure is off Pompey it is still very much on Latics, with this their banker win in a tough run-in. By the end their nerves were stretched and some players wilted under the strain.

Martinez's side like to pass but often lack punch although promising James McCarthy got on the end of a fine move to make Jamie Ashdown parry hispower drive.

Jason Scotland could have eased the tension but stabbed a close-range shot at Ashdown and then thudded a better effort off the keeper's arms.

There were even boos from the home fans who felt some of their team did not grasp how bad their position is. Paul Scharner - the butt of most of the stick - had the ball in the net from an N'Zogbia cross but he was offside.

Scharner seems out of sorts at the moment, with his contract expiring, and he had angry words with team-mate McCarthy as the pair went up the tunnel at half-time.

The Austrian was soon subbed and headed straight to the dressing room in disgust, upset at being singled out and possibly seen for the last time in a Wigan shirt.

Scotland and Hugo Rodallega missed the target as the agony went on with Pompey - superbly led at the back by Marc Wilson - proving that they plan to be awkward to the end.

Moreno almost scored a controversial goal, playing on with Pompey down to nine men as vanden Borre and Diop lay injured, but Ashdown kept him out bravely. The keeper did even better to deny McCarthy later.

Martinez said: "It was tricky. If you look at the changes they made they had kids coming in who played the game of their lives.

"Unless you get the first goal it is going to be hard. We could have lost our concentration but we didn't. We are all disappointed that we could not break them down but they worked extremely hard."