02/02/2008  Portsmouth 1 Chelsea 1
 
Jermain Defoe attained instant hero status at Fratton Park with the equaliser that prevented Chelsea setting a club record of 10 straight wins.

Nicolas Anelka slotted Chelsea into a lead they did not deserve after 55 minutes but Defoe, who had a relatively quiet first half, came up with a route-one equaliser, staying onside to drill in fellow debutant Milan Baros's header from a long clearance by goalkeeper David James.

The roof came off as Defoe struck and Pompey fans had already forgotten about Benjani Mwaruwari, whose transfer to Manchester City remains up in the air.

Indeed, the ex-Tottenham ace could have buried Chelsea with three more chances before the finish.

Lassana Diarra, the former Chelsea midfielder who signed from Arsenal for £5 million last month, drove Pompey forward early on.

He picked out on-loan Baros with a delightful diagonal ball after five minutes but the striker, making his home debut, was off balance when he shot and skied the ball off target from 20 yards.

Ballack's miss for Chelsea soon afterwards was just as spectacular, his shot from the same sort of distance as Baros ballooning over the bar despite plenty of time and space to measure Ashley Cole's square pass.

Surprisingly, Hreidarsson partnered skipper Sol Campbell in the centre of Pompey's defence with Sylvain Distin absent for the first time this season with a hamstring injury.

But it was Hreidarsson's block tackle that halted a dangerous advance by Anelka after 10 minutes before Niko Kranjcar drove a good right-footed shot just wide.

Diarra tested Petr Cech with a firm drive from distance and Pompey more than held their own in midfield.

Even so, Ballack soon headed just over from a corner and then beat James with another header only for Kranjcar to clear off the line.

Pompey then appealed for two penalties.

Ballack appeared to escape referee Howard Webb's gaze when trampling all over Richard Hughes and a Chelsea hand then seemed to brush the ball in melee on the edge of their area.

Chelsea had their biggest escape so far when Pamarot's glancing header from Kranjcar's corner struck Cech's left-hand post and spun away.

The Londoners were out of jail again when Ballack risked another penalty claim by sliding in to rob Baros after Claude Makelele carelessly conceded possession near his own area.

But Anelka, who had ploughed a lone furrow up front, could have hurt Pompey in added time at the end of the first half when Florent Malouda's perceptive pass set him up for a run on James, but the keeper stayed big to block the shot and Ashley Cole skied the rebound.

New boy Defoe had been quiet so far for Pompey but three minutes after the break he worked his away through the Chelsea box, defying three challenges, only for Shaun Wright-Phillips to get a foot in and Baros then wastefully fired the loose ball against the fallen Cech's knee.

Chelsea were finally stirred into their best passage of action by the escape, and after Hreidarsson saved Pompey with a timely intervention after Cole's solo run took out two defenders and stranded James, they struck with a classic breakaway.

Referee Webb waved away yet another mighty roar for a penalty when the ball seemed to bounce up on to Makelele's arm before he cleared in the 55th minute.

In the blink of an eye, Malouda was racing away down the left and when his perfect far-post cross was perfectly cushioned by Joe Cole's silky touch, Anelka was on hand to finish with clinical poise.

Home fans chanted "one-nil to the referee" but their dark mood was lightened within nine minutes when Defoe joyfully put away his chance.

It was direct stuff as James boomed a clearance downfield, Baros headed on and Defoe stayed just onside to devour the opportunity.

Both sides went for the winner and Hreidarsson almost got it with a header from one of Kranjcar's quality free-kicks that dropped just wide.

So did Defoe who had a chance almost as easy as the one he scored but he toed it over the advancing Cech and wide of the post.

And right at the end he fired ferociously over from Diarra's pass.

But Pompey needed a masterful save by James to defy Juliano Belletti before the finish.