Yakubu spurns late chance

Middlesbrough 1 Portsmouth 1

Aiyegbeni Yakubu had Middlesbrough fans cheering and cursing in equal measure after rescuing a point against his former club but spurning a straightforward winner.

The Nigerian striker, signed from Portsmouth for £7.5m (€11m) in the summer, showed value for money with his fifth goal of the season after Gary O’Neil’s strike had threatened an upset.

But there was frustration for Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren who had to settle for a draw after watching his side dominate proceedings for most of the game.

Portsmouth’s hotch-potch of different nationalities earned the disapproval of FIFA president Sepp Blatter this week and manager Alain Perrin’s favoured 3-3-3-1 formation did little for the game as a spectacle either.

The first half was eminently forgettable though Yakubu was a constant nuisance to his old club.

His first glimpse of the target came when George Boateng chased a loose ball down the right and whipped in a cross that his team-mate met well but was unable to keep his header down.

Pompey’s defence was also found wanting when Emanuel Pogatetz chipped a ball to the far post when the unmarked Maccarone tried an overhead kick but made a hash of it.

Fabio Rochemback blasted over after Yakubu’s lay-off as Boro kept their foot on the gas, then the Nigerian’s hustling of Dejan Stefanovic forced an error but luckily for Portsmouth the ball ran back to the keeper.

When the pace of the game slowed, however, that worked in Portsmouth’s favour and they should really have made the breakthrough when Laurent Robert skipped past a challenge and released Andy Griffin striding down the right wing.

Griffin sent an early cross towards the far post and Silva, who had made an excellent run, somehow failed to make contact.

Silva then made contact with Zvonimir Vukic’s neat ball into the box but his wild swing saw the ball loop hopelessly high and wide.

As half-time approached, Yakubu had a half-opening after a quick free-kick but his connection was poor and Jamie Ashdown was untroubled in the Pompey goal.

Both managers made changes at the break, and Perrin’s substitution of Svetoslav Todorov for Silva proved inspirational as within 45 seconds of the restart the Bulgarian beat the offside trap and burst into the penalty area before cutting the ball back for Vukic to dink towards O’Neil who slammed the ball home from 10 yards out.

Going behind at least served to spark Middlesbrough into life and the equaliser arrived via a straightforward route.

Fabio Rochemback delivered a dipping corner to the far-post where Yakubu headed it simply past Ashdown with Giannis Skopelitis making a pathetic attempt to out-muscle Boro’s dangerman.

McClaren decided to throw caution to the wind in search of the winner, sending on Viduka and Hasselbaink as well as Yakubu, and Gaizka Mendieta could have grabbed the lead but sliced his drive despite having time and space.

Viduka had a low shot well saved after a lovely turn and useful footwork inside the Portsmouth box, then Mendieta’s vision and wonderful pass created that glorious opportunity for Yakubu but the Nigerian stabbed badly wide as Ashdown came out of goal to challenge.

Hasselbaink tried a left-footed curler from the edge of the area but it was a comfortable catch for Ashdown, then Vukic tried to relieve the pressure by setting up John Viafara but the Colombian’s strike was woeful.

Boateng nearly grabbed an injury-time winner with a fierce shot from 20 yards but Ashdown produced a terrific save and Hasselbaink’s header from the ensuing corner bounced past the upright.