Immediately after a well-deserved stalemate for Albion against the table-toppers, boss Steve Coppell expressed disappointment that they did not hold on for a win.

By the time he had driven home to Croydon a draw in the midday kick-off had become even more valuable.

Next opponents Walsall were the only other team in the bottom seven to pick up a point.

Home defeats for Grimsby and Stoke against mid-table sides made it a thoroughly satisfactory day for the Seagulls.

They are only three points adrift of Sheffield Wednesday now with a game in hand and five from safety, yet Coppell's sentiments were still relevant.

Albion's bid to escape the drop promises to resemble the tortoise, rather than the hare, unless they can start turning draws into victories.

At Coventry the previous Saturday, they did enough to win. The same applied for two-thirds of an entertaining south coast derby until Svetoslav Todorov cancelled out a superbly taken goal by Bobby Zamora.

Portsmouth looked the likelier winners after that, but defeat would have been hard for Coppell's battlers at the end of a week in which their efforts warranted more.

"We played really well at Norwich as well, but in seven days we have only got two points and defeat in the FA Cup," he said.

"If we play to a certain level then we will get our return sooner or later."

Albion certainly impressed new goalkeeper Ben Roberts, making an accomplished debut on a month's loan from Charlton as cover for the injured Michel Kuipers.

"I thought the boys played really well," he said. "I was happy to come through with a point.

"It would have been nice to hold on for a clean sheet and get all three.

"The industry in midfield was excellent. We were nice and solid at the back and obviously the quality is up front with Bobby Zamora and Graham Barrett.

"A couple of my friends played down here a few weeks ago for Burnley and said they are not a bad team at all, so it didn't take me by surprise.

"It's a shame we don't have a game now to carry it on. We've got to wait two weeks, but hopefully if we play like that at Walsall we can get a win."

Coppell, as ever, got his tactics just about spot-on. Charlie Oatway was never far away from the mercurial Paul Merson.

Merson's influence on the contest was much less than that of Paul Brooker, operating in a similar roaming role for Albion.

Brooker, on his first home start for a month, is pondering a new contract offer.

He has strung together three influential performances in a row now, which is the kind of consistent contribution Coppell is seeking from the enigmatic winger.

Brooker was particularly prominent in the first half, as the tempo and vibrancy of Albion's play unsettled their supposedly superior visitors.

He fired into the side netting early on and set up a golden chance for Zamora, which he spurned from six yards.

The worry at the break was that, as at Coventry, Albion had failed to capitalise when on top.

The concern was heightened early in the second half when Nigel Quashie's 25-yarder rebounded off the base of a post.

They say form is temporary, class is permanent, and Zamora vindicated the adage.

Brooker lobbed him into space through the inside right channel after Pompey failed to deal with a bouncing ball.

Zamora cut inside, shrugging off two defenders, before planting his seventh of the season and first for seven games past Shaka Hislop.

It was a quality finish which Todorov matched ten minutes later. The Bulgarian, with his back to goal, turned away from Robbie Pethick and picked his spot from just inside the area.

Roberts made fine saves from Quashie on the stroke of half-time and one-handed from Nigerian substitute Yakubu just before Todorov levelled.

He was perhaps a little fortunate not to concede a penalty which would have changed the shape of the match when Todorov tried to round him early on.

Coppell rightly pointed out, though, that Paul Watson had a similar claim turned down in the second half for a shove in the back by on-loan Arsenal defender Efstathios Tavlaridis.

The biggest compliment you could pay to Albion's performance was that Tavlaridis' Highbury team-mate, Reading-bound Steve Sidwell, was not obviously missed, although a player of his quality undoubtedly will be in the coming weeks.

Coppell's hunt on the midfield front will continue after Curtis Woodhouse turned down a three-month loan move from Birmingham.

Albion have proved in recent weeks they can compete with anyone in the First Division. The question now is can they start beating them? They must do to survive.

  • Albion (5-2-1-2): Roberts (gk) 7; Watson (rwb) 7, Mayo (cd) 7, Cullip (cd) 7, Oatway (m), Brooker (m) 7, Carpenter (m) 7, Pethick (cd) 7, Jones (lwb) 7, Zamora (f) 7, Barrett (f) 7. Subs: Blackwell for Oatway (withdrawn 79), Kitson for Barrett (withdrawn 83), Hart, Packham, Piercy.
  • Scorers: Zamora (54).
  • Bookings: Watson (43) foul.
  • Portsmouth (3-4-1-2): Hislop; Foxe, Todorov, Merson, Quashie, Diabate, Taylor, Pericard, Stone, Tavlaridis, Primus. Subs: Crowe for Taviaridis (withdrawn 69), Harper for Stone (injured 38), Yakubu for Pericard (withdrawn 56), Kawaguchi, Burton.
  • Scorers: Todorov (64).
  • Bookings: Stone (6) foul, Taviaridis (33) foul.
  • Half-Time: Albion 0 Portsmouth 0.
  • Attendance: 6,848.
  • Fan's View: Mick Vincent (Brighton).

Great performances by every Albion player but yet another game that we should have won.

Harty said on Southern Counties Radio that come May, will we look back on games that we drew instead of winning rather than the 12-game drought?

Albion could have been 2-0 up at half time but at the back of my mind I always feared they'd sneak a goal and we'd lose.

As it was, Bobby Zamora came up with something special, another ten in 18 games please Bob, but Pompey managed to get that equaliser.

I believe we can still stay up, but we need to win ten games and four of those must come away from home at Walsall, Bradford, Stoke and Grimsby.

Don't write off the Seagulls yet.