Norwich 1 Portsmouth 1: Neil Allen's verdict - A precious point evokes the Great Escape spirit
A late Carrow Road point leaves the Blues one place above the Championship relegation zone
There it was, the unmistakable tune of the Great Escape, emanating from the noisy away end.
Except Pompey’s precarious predicament has yet to be rendered impossible to untangle themselves from - and neither have they successfully staged an unlikely getaway.
Positioned one point above the Championship drop zone with seven matches remaining, destiny firmly remains in their own hands, no doubt much to the envy of Oxford United and Leicester City.
Still, it was fitting that, during a powerful eight-minute second-half rendition of the theme from the famous 1963 film, John Mousinho’s men would grab themselves a precious relegation lifeline at Carrow Road.
Heartened during a second half which saw the Blues discover their attacking impetus and adventurous energy following a meek opening 45 minutes which had left them trailing, those 1,806 visiting fans were in fine voice.
Travelling support as strong and unequivocable as ever
As the clock ticked down towards a potential fourth successive defeat, the travelling faithful remained in excellent spirits. A fresh start, no grudges bore from the QPR humiliation, a second, third, fourth, fifth chance for the players to make amends.
There had been photos of anti-Eisner banners circulating before kick-off, yet these were not visible from pitch level during the game. While, after going 1-0 down to Pelle Mattsson’s 26th-minute opener, a chant of ‘We are going down’ was swiftly drowned out by rousing renditions of ‘Play Up Pompey’.
On the field of battle, the Fratton faithful’s support was as strong and unequivocable as ever, and, as a puzzlingly passive Norwich opted to cruise rather than ruthlessly drive home their slender advantage, Pompey capitalised.
The Great Escape rendition steadily built in volume and length, dominating the 26,613 crowd, whose vast bulk had remarkably grown quiet, sufficiently relaxed with the 1-0 scoreline in their favour.
The visiting fans had spent the majority of the match staring at yet another loss, while watching from afar with horror as relegation rivals were putting more points on the board that Good Friday afternoon.
A second half on the front foot from Portsmouth
Other than a few opportunities from several set-pieces, including Vladan Kovacevic’s flying save from Marlon Pack’s free-kick late in the first half, the Blues barely threatened the home goal. Yet after the interval, they stepped up their performance.
On the front foot and playing plenty of the half in the Canaries’ half, the visitors had finally hauled themselves off the floor to compete as equals. Perhaps buoyed by Philippe Clement’s side’s curious inertia, it was a fight appreciated by those Pompey supporters present.
Mousinho’s troops may have continued to trail, yet it was the sole collective voice of the travelling fans which could be heard at Carrow Road. Urging, hoping, believing.
Then it happened, their unrelenting Great Escape chant interrupted mid-sentence. Substitute Andre Dozzell delivered a right-wing free-kick into the box which was met by the head of Colby Bishop.
Regan Poole was lurking around the six-yard box, ready to apply a finish, only to be beaten to it by Mattsson, who inexplicably steered a right-footed clearance past his own keeper and into the net for a dramatic equaliser.
With six minutes remaining on the clock, the Blues had their equaliser and a precious away point in their latest lengthy battle to remain in the Championship.
It was perfect that man-of-the-match Poole would have the final say during four minutes of stoppage time. Winning a foul after throwing himself into an aerial challenge inside the box - then celebrating as if he had scored a goal.
Referee Stephen Martin brought the 1-1 draw to a welcome conclusion shortly afterwards and Pompey left Norfolk with an unexpected, yet thoroughly hard-earned, point.
Timely confidence boost
Many supporters would have been delighted with such a haul before kick-off, so it would be churlish to subsequently criticise the outcome on the basis of its manner of achievement.
Granted, there was little to inspire from the standard of football produced by the visitors, not that it truly mattered. Norwich had won 10 of their previous 13 matches at Carrow Road - and the Blues left on Friday clutching a point.
It remains to be seen how crucial that point is, of course. Certainly a home win against Oxford on Monday is essential, as will be Leicester’s visit on April 18, yet it represents a step closer to safety, while acting as a timely confidence boost.
Roll the opening credits on the Great Escape.