It had all been going so well when Peter Crouch scored his first league goal since the 20th of December with a well taken volley that eluded the Boro defenders.
Boro, without the injured Gary O'Neil, only had a Tuncay header against the side netting and a few harmless potshots to show for their efforts as the home fans turned against their team.
Previous to Crouch's goal David Nugent had hit the post whilst Crouch may have had another if he connected better with a header late on in the first half. The only negative from our point of view is that the lively Jermaine Pennant had to be replaced by Nadir Belhadj because of injury.
Gareth Southgate's side improved in the second half as the blues defence soaked up the pressure. They were grateful to David James for producing a superb reaction save to deny Tuncay from a close range header as Boro continued to pile forward.
Pompey had their chances in the second half as Niko Kranjcar curled a free kick wide and Crouch scuffed a poor shot wide when he really should have hit the target. Sean Davis also had a clear run at their goal but decided to pass to Belhadj rather than shoot himself as play broke down.
Paul Hart may have made a mistake in bringing on Richard Hughes for David Nugent as that signalled an intention to sit on a narrow lead rather than try and finish them off. Southgate responded by bringing on £12 million striker Afonso Alves and it was one way traffic since then.
Matthew Bates was sent off for a second yellow card following a desperate dive in the box but Pompey fans who thought the game was done and dusted really should have known better given how many late goals we've conceded this season.
The fourth official somehow worked out there would be four minutes of stoppage time and in the final minute David James blocked Tony McMahon's header from a corner and Marlon King pounced on the loose ball to break Pompey hearts once again.
It was almost even worse as Alves found himself clean through on goal but David James stopped his shot to preserve a point for Pompey when it really should have been all three.
So yet again Pompey fans left a game feeling extremely frustrated and that another two important points have been dropped. What was even more frustrating was that every other result went for us yesterday so three points would have really relieved the pressure at the bottom.
I don't know why Paul Hart decided to sit on a lead against ten men, especially given our history of conceding late on. I also don't understand why he constantly plays Nugent on the wing as he doesn't have the pace or the trickery to play there, especially when we have other players that are ready made for that position.
Still, on a positive note we looked like a competent side that can get out of trouble unlike under Tony Adams, we didn't get beaten which would have been a disaster and we're out of the bottom three on virtue of goal difference after Stoke were beaten 3-1 at Everton.
But with the Toffees in good form, we've got a very tough game at Fratton Park next week that we have to get something from.
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 8 - Some good saves and very well taken crosses.
Glen Johnson: 7 - Stood his ground and made a good run leading to the goal.
Sol Campbell: 7 - Won most headers.
Sylvain Distin: 8 - Looks back to his best.
Hermann Hreidarsson: 7 - Solid and dependable.
Jermaine Pennant: 6 - Looked dangerous until injury.
Sean Davis: 6 - Steady performance.
Hayden Mullins: 6 - Rarely noticed but did OK.
David Nugent: 6 - Almost scored but still wasted out wide.
Niko Kranjcar: 6 - Showed glimpses of quality.
Peter Crouch: 8 - Held the ball up well and scored a good goal.
Substitutes
Asmir Begovic
Younes Kaboul
Noe Pamarot (Kranjcar 90): N/A - Time wasting sub.
Nadir Belhadj (Pennant 36): 6 - Offered something going forward.
Richard Hughes (Nugent 70): N/A - Brought on to tighten things up, but it didn't work.
John Utaka
Kanu