Michael Owen passed up the chance to fire Newcastle
to a potentially life-saving victory as Alan Shearer
was left staring down the barrel of a gun after a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.
• Shearer defends Owen
The 29-year-old striker was denied by veteran goalkeeper David James'
legs after he was played in by Mark Viduka 63 minutes into a pulsating encounter,
which both sides had chances to win.
James had earlier saved from Damien Duff, and Viduka and Obafemi Martins both went
close on a night when the Magpies needed all three points to rekindle their hopes
of Barclays Premier League survival.
However, it might have been even worse for Shearer's men with Peter Crouch firing
straight at Steve Harper with 11 minutes remaining and Richard Hughes heading against
the foot of the post three minutes later.
Shearer had set his side the task of winning their remaining three home games to drag
themselves out of relegation trouble but, having fallen at the first hurdle, they now
face the daunting prospect of having to get something at Liverpool on Sunday.
The 38-year-old made a series of statements ahead of kick-off when he named all
three of his big-name strikers - Owen, Viduka and Martins - in his starting line-up
and left Kevin Nolan and Ryan Taylor, two of the three men signed during yet another
disastrous January transfer window, out of the 18.
He had appealed in advance for passionate support from the stands and he got just that,
with the help of a rousing rendition of Blaydon Races from
opera star Graeme Danby moments before kick-off.
But what he needed most was a response from his players and he got that too.
Newcastle took the game to Pompey from the off and, what they lacked in guile
and craft in the middle of the park, they made up for in effort and commitment.
That they went in at half-time with nothing to show for their efforts was down
to a combination of poor finishing, good defending and one excellent save
from Shearer's former England team-mate James.
However, the applause they received as they left the pitch could only serve
to increase their determination not to be denied once they returned.
With Pompey fielding Crouch as a lone striker and, at times, getting all 11
men behind the ball, the Magpies had to remain patient.
Alan Smith, still waiting for his first goal in a black and white shirt
, had optimistic appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Mike Riley
when his driven 30th-minute shot was blocked by Hermann Hreidarsson's arm,
and the former Manchester United midfielder fired just over five minutes later.
In the meantime, Viduka only just failed to turn a low drive from substitute Danny Guthrie,
on for injured full-back Jose Enrique, past James.
But Newcastle's best two chances of the half came inside the final seven minutes,
James making a fine save to push Duff's goal-bound effort around the post,
while Martins saw a close-range shot deflected over the bar with seconds remaining.
Pompey created little as they attempted to hit their hosts on the counter-attack,
although Harper had to tip a 33rd-minute curler from Sean Davis over the bar.
Viduka was presented with a glorious chance to open the scoring within seconds
of the restart after Owen cleverly back-heeled Martins' pass into his path.
However, the Australian could only stab his effort straight at James as the
blue shirts closed on him.
Fabricio Coloccini endured a heart-stopping moment when Crouch went to ground
inside the box under his 50th-minute challenge but, again, Riley was in no mood
to award a spot-kick.
James was alert enough to prevent Martins from reaching a long ball four minutes later,
if only just, but, as the game became increasingly stretched,
play switched rapidly from end to end.
The Pompey keeper almost handed Newcastle a glorious chance on
a plate when he dropped Duff's cross with Viduka and Owen close at hand,
although he redeemed himself with 63 minutes gone.
Viduka managed to squeeze the ball through the Portsmouth defence,
despite having been wrestled to the ground, to leave Owen with just the keeper to beat,
but James blocked with his legs to leave Shearer with his head in his hands.
The manager introduced Andy Carroll and Jonas Gutierrez for Viduka and Nicky Butt
in a desperate attempt to find a winner but it was Nadir Belhadj who forced a fine
fingertip save from Harper after a lightning 73rd-minute break.
Carroll looped a 77th-minute header high over but it was Pompey who staged the
grandstand finish that might have resulted in victory had Crouch been able to
beat Harper or had Hughes' header landed six inches to the right.
Shearer defends Owen
Newcastle manager Alan Shearer leapt to Michael Owen's defence after seeing the
striker pass up a glorious opportunity to snatch a survival lifeline.
Asked if that would further fuel the arguments of Owen's
Shearer said: ''I would say everyone's entitled to their opinion
but we have got to continue to create chances for him.
''He had one tonight that he would expect himself to put away - so would Oba,
so would big Mark - but, if we continue to create, one of them will go in.
''We know, if we keep on, he will get one. Obviously, we would have loved it tonight.
It didn't come, so we will look to the next game.''
It might have been so different had Owen been at his lethal best in front goal
when he was played in by Viduka with 63 minutes gone.
But, as a crowd of 47,481 at St James' Park waited for the net to bulge,
James won their duel on a night when victory would have meant so much to the Magpies.
But Shearer, who had set his players the task of winning their three remaining home games
to stay up, remained defiant after two vital points went begging.
He said: ''I don't know if that's going to be a good point or a bad point.
What I can guarantee is that there will be more twists and turns.
''Four games in football is a hell of a long time. Yes, I am disappointed
we haven't won the game, and the players are. But we created enough to have won it.
If one of the chances had gone in, it would have been a different story.
''But I don't know what's going to (be enough to) stay up.
I don't know the points total - no-one does, particularly with the way
results are going this season. But we have got to stick in there,
we have got to keep on fighting and we will.''
Pompey boss Paul Hart, who felt his side should have had a penalty
for Fabricio Coloccini's second-half challenge on Peter Crouch,
was happy enough with a point, but refused to concede their total of
38 is enough to stay up.
Striker Peter Crouch went down under a challenge by defender Fabricio Coloccini,
and Hart was certain it was a foul.
He said: "Having looked at it, I thought it was a penalty when I saw it.
And it is a penalty now. Definitely. Peter Crouch doesn't dive."
He added: ''Do I think we are safe? If we had won tonight,
I may have been persuaded to say it, but I am not going to say it just at the moment.
''We have got a bit of work to do. I am very satisfied with a clean sheet
and a point but there's a tinge of disappointment that we didn't get all three.''
Meanwhile, Newcastle tonight confirmed they have reached an
out-of-court settlement with Real Mallorca and Velez Sarsfield,
who jointly owned Jonas Gutierrez's registration, for his transfer to St James'
last summer.
