AS A player who has carved out a reputation in a space 16 yards by six yards, Tony Cottee probably thought he would extend his career in the wide open acres of agricultural Norfolk.

The pocket-sized striker was left wishing a patch of fertile ground would open up and swallow him after he wasted two golden chances to dig his old mate Steve Claridge into a deep furrow.

Pompey were happy with the point harvested from a match that lurched from turgid to scrappy, and while Claridge will point to another clean sheet that was due as much to Cottee's wastefulness as anything.

Perhaps Cottee was paying Claridge back for the lifts he used to give him to training in their Leicester days, but you would certainly have backed him to score on 36 minutes.

In fact, you would have put your house on it as Phil Mulryne's reverse pass opened up the Pompey defence. There was Cottee, 14 yards out, left of centre on his right foot; the sort of chance he would have taken in his sleep in his heyday.

But instead of slotting under the advancing Russell Hoult, he opted to go for curl and discovered his sights were skewiff.

Cottee had another chance after the break when he again found himself clear, but when the subtlety of a clip over the diving Hoult was called for, Cottee opted to slot, and this time Hoult's timely plunge blocked.

Norwich's other chance fell to Paul Dalglish, the subtitute's first touch taking him clear but despite looking the dead spit of him, you know he's not his old man, who would have buried the chance. Junior slammed at it as Hoult again made himself big at the near post to save.

In contrast, Pompey were almost anonymous in attack. Lee Bradbury headed their best chance wide after Ceri Hughes picked him out eight yards from goal and Scott Hiley managed their only on-target effort three minutes after the break.

And therein lies part of Pompey's problem. Claridge's multi-skilled role of player-manager-media pundit is taking its toll on legs that might struggle to play two games a week anyway.

Claridge didn't have his usual spark and when that is missing, Pompey just don't fire. They had plenty of possession and territory, and got wide to whang in crosses, but they never hurt Norwich.

Not that Norwich were that much better, and you can only wonder how they managed to stick four past Sheffield United.

Pompey always just managed to keep the lid on things, mainly due to another classy performance from Scott Hiley whose anticipation and reading of the game bailed out his bigger colleagues.

Iwan Roberts is one of the few men who match Darren Moore physically and he gave the big stopper as tough a ride as he's had all season, and while the big defender gets paid to keep the opposition out, there are times when his distribution is a worry, returning the ball to the oppostion too often for comfort.

In Phil Mulryne, Norwich had the best player on show. It took a lot of mobility and industry from the impressive Tommy Thogersen and the understated efficiency of Shaun Derry to nullify him.