James turns the back the clock to save Pompey

DAVID JAMES has seen almost everything during his long and colourful career, but the England goalkeeper still considers himself a novice when it comes to relegation battles.

James has only tasted demotion once, with West Ham in 2003, and if his performance here was anything to go by, he has no wish to repeat the experience with Portsmouth.

His goalkeeping masterclass underpinned a promising performance by Pompey, even if his hopes of swiping all three points were ultimately undone by Middlesbrough’s on-loan striker Marlon King in injury time.

Afterwards, both Portsmouth manager Paul Hart and his Boro counterpart Gareth Southgate were full of praise for James, 38, who made a number of stunning saves.

“I don’t think David James will thank me for singling him out but he is a magnificent goalkeeper and he has been absolutely fantastic for the four games I have been in charge,” Hart said, while Southgate observed he was “simply outstanding.”

Boro looked destined for defeat until King’s late strike – his first goal for the club – but the point could prove to be a crucial one.

Boro skipper Stewart Downing said: “I am confident we can stay up. We have some winnable games coming up at home and we have virtually a fully fit squad.”

Downing had expressed his desire to move clubs during the January transfer window but insists he is now committed to keeping the club up.

“I had an unsettling two to three weeks in January where I didn’t know where I was going to be,” he said.

“But once it was all sorted I didn’t really have any problems – I knew what I had to do.”

Portsmouth’s Hayden Mullins, who had formed a dominating central midfield partnership with Sean Davis, claimed Peter Crouch’s first-half volley should have been enough to ensure victory in this relegation contest.

Mullins said: “All the lads were very disappointed. Points at this stage are so vital and three would have been absolutely brilliant, so we’re upset that we dropped two – especially to a club that’s in a similar position.”

It could have been even worse for Portsmouth – Afonso Alves could have scored an unlikely winner with the last kick of the game but that man James came up trumps again to win the one-on-one contest.

MIDDLESBROUGH (4-4-2): Jones 6, McMahon 6, Wheater 7, Huth 6, Pogatetz 6 (Taylor 46, 5), Aliadiere 5 (A Johnson 58, 5), Arca 5 (Alves 71, 5), Bates 4, Downing 6, Tuncay 8, King 6.

Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Emnes, Shawky, Walker.

PORTSMOUTH (4-4-2): James 8, Johnson 7, Campbell 7, Distin 7, Hreidarsson 6, Pennant 6 (Belhadj 36, 6), Davis 6, Mullins 6, Kranjcar 6 (Pamarot 90, 4), Crouch 7, Nugent 5 (Hughes 70, 5).

Subs Not Used: Begovic, Kaboul, Utaka, Kanu.

REFEREE: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire) 7: Right to send off Bates for two bookable offences.

MATCH RATING: ** Pretty desperate. Pompey retreated into themselves after scoring; Boro were plain dreadful.