Ten-man Portsmouth earned a temporary stay of execution from Premier League relegation as they held Blackburn to a goalless at Fratton Park. Rovers enjoyed by far the better chances as David Dunn and Christopher Samba both hit the post in the first half.

Pompey's depleted squad suffered another hit when they lost Anthony Vanden Borre for their FA Cup semi-final with Tottenham, after he was sent off for a second bookable offence on the hour.

Avram Grant went into the game without 13 first-team regulars and was forced to pad his six-man substitutes' bench with youth team players. They added another injury worry to their list after four minutes, when makeshift centre back Aaron Mokoena pulled up with a twisted knee.

With Grant's options so limited on the bench, the midfielder knew he had to stay on the pitch and performed well out of position. Pompey's only chance to score early on came when John Utaka raced clear, only to cut inside and drive a shot straight at Robinson.

With Rovers slowly turning up the heat, El-Hadji Diouf picked out Jason Roberts with a superb pass inside the box after 19 minutes. But he was promptly dispossessed by Mokoena.

On-loan Pompey midfielder Jamie O'Hara, who sat out last Saturday's trip to his parent club Tottenham, nearly marked his return to the side with a goal after 28 minutes.

Kanu found Utaka in space on the left and the Nigerian picked out O'Hara, but his header was beautifully nodded off the line by Gael Givet.

Blackburn continued to press and Dunn came within inches of giving them the lead, when his low left-footed strike hit the outside of the far post.

Rovers should have gone in 1-0 at the break, when a Pedersen free-kick found Samba unmarked, but his header found the post and Pompey scrambled the ball clear.

Pompey started the second half the brighter of the two sides, but their efforts to take charge suffered a crushing blow on the hour, when they were reduced to ten men by referee Steve Bennett.

Anthony Vanden Borre was booked shortly before the break for a foul on Blackburn's Steven Nzonzi. Grant will have been fuming to then see him blatantly handle a ball down the Pompey flank and receive a cheap second yellow card for deliberate handball. His subsequent one-game ban rules him out of his side's FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham next weekend and deepens his manager's selection woes.

Allardyce's men threw bodies forward in search of a winner. A string of balls into the Pompey box failed to trouble the home side and Kanu nearly made Rovers pay for their wastefulness after 85 minutes. Despite Pompey failing to win, Stoke's triumph at home to Hull means the strugglers are safe from relegation for now.