Wednesday 13 February 2013 13:50, UK
Portsmouth manager Guy Whittingham was full of praise for his defenders following Tuesday's goalless draw at Hartlepool.
The point ended a run of nine successive defeats and meant the current crop of players stopped short of setting a new club record. It did, however, mean they made club history by going 20 games without a win. They also kept Pools at arm's length as they are they only team below Pompey in the table and would have overtaken them with victory. Pompey's back four and tight midfield proved impregnable and Whittingham said: "We've been decent without luck of results or concentration lets us down. "Defending for 90 minutes - that's the best we have been. Apart from the Preston game it's the best defensively it's been. "We wondered about subs as the game went on but we were resolute. "Defensively it was a step forward but you can't just say you have done it on one evening. We started it at Bournemouth when concentration cost us a goal, we have stayed solid and Simon [Eastwood] didn't have too many shots to stop." He added: "A big thank you to the fans, you heard them all night and it's so much appreciated and its so pleasing to give them some sort of reward. To put a smile on their face it's the least we could do. "The pressure is on us, it's a difficult situation and we are here in it. We showed determination not to let the run happen."
