MOST of the south coast had decamped to Anfield with Havant & Waterlooville and the spirit of the Cup seemed to have travelled north as well. To their credit, Plymouth brought a vociferous contingent of fans and out-sang the home crowd as soundly as their team outplayed the Premier League side. How Plymouth lost, after taking an early lead through Chris Clark and dominating large swathes of the match, was a mystery.

But for David James, who made a series of fine saves including three in as many minutes just after half-time, it would be the Championship side representing the dockyard cities in the fifth round of the FA Cup. “If the Premier League side’s goal-keeper is the man of the match, that tells the story of our performance,” said Paul Sturrock, the Plymouth manager. “It’s not often you get a standing ovation from your fans when you lose.”

To compound Plymouth’s sense of injustice, referee Andre Marriner turned down clear claims for a penalty in the closing minutes after Sylvain Distin appeared to handle the ball. Sturrock also thought Lukas Jutkiewicz was tugged down in the box as Plymouth pressed forward to try to gain some reward for their industry.

Plymouth’s preparations had included a visit to HMS Albion in Devonport and they came to Fratton Park looking refreshed by a new shipment of players. But not even Sturrock could have envisaged the impact made by one of them, Chris Clark, a £200,000 buy from Aberdeen, who marked his debut with a goal inside four minutes.

Aberdeen to Plymouth must be one of the longer journeys in the domestic transfer market, but Clark had barely introduced himself to his teammates before he was being feted as a potential hero. His powerful right foot shot took a deflection off Her-mann Hreidarsson before hitting the underside of the bar, but he must have blinked at the time and space he was allowed.

Moments later, Plymouth could have gone futher ahead as Rory Fallon turned Noe Pamarot and forced James to tip away his low shot. From the corner, Jermaine Easter’s volley brought another excellent save from the Portsmouth goal-keeper. The drum-and-bass brigade at the Milton End were stunned into silence by the side ranked 23 places below them in the league ladder. At least, having allowed neighbours, Havant & Waterlooville, to borrow their data on Liverpool, they could claim an assist in the nonleague side’s heroics at Anfield.

Slowly, the Premier League side began to find their rhythm, with Benjani Mwaruwari the main threat and Glen Johnson pressing forward down the right, but their passing was still laboured, their workrate dismal. Of David Nugent, little was seen, and of Nico Kranjcar, Portsmouth’s player of December, even less. In contrast, the experienced Fallon was a constant concern for a Portsmouth defence that was missing the solidifying presence of their captain, Sol Campbell.

When Portsmouth did draw level, in the 34th minute, it was rather less than the home team deserved. There was a touch of good fortune about the goal as recent signing Lassana Diarra’s 25-yard strike took at least one deflection off a Plymouth defender before flying low past Luke McCormick’s left hand and into the bottom corner of the net. If Nugent, who was withdrawn at half-time with a groin injury, is proof of Harry Redknapp’s fallibility in the transfer market, Diarra, brought from Arsenal. looks like another stolen gem.

Plymouth still looked the more purposeful and Fallon volleyed at James from the edge of the penalty area, just to remind the home side that the tie was far from over. It seemed that way when Kranjcar took advantage of a momentary lapse in the Plymouth defence to poke home what proved to be the winner on the stroke of half-time.

Plymouth stuck to their guns in the second half, James saving from Clark, Peter Halmosi and Easter in quick succession. Only then did Portsmouth begin to add some urgency to their passing game and pen Plymouth back into their own half. Pedro Mendes curled a shot weakly at McCormick and Kranjcar’s long-range effort looped over the bar after a deflection. Yet, by the end, it was Plymouth who looked most likely to score. “We were hanging on for long periods,” admitted Redknapp later. “If Jamo hadn’t been in such good form, we could have found ourselves in real trouble.”

Star man: David James (Portsmouth)

Player ratings: Portsmouth: James 8, Johnson 4, Pamarot 4, Distin 6, Hreidarsson 5, Lau-ren 4 (Davis 66min), Mendes 5 (Hughes 90min), Diarra 7, Kranjcar 6, Nugent 3 (Mvuemba ht, 6), Benjani 6

Plymouth: McCormick 6, Connolly 5, Doumbe 6, Timar 6, Sawyer 7, Clark 7 (Folly 81min), Nalis 6, Norris 7, Halmosi 7, Easter 8 (Jutkiewicz 75min), Fallon 7

Yellow cards: Portsmouth: Pamarot

Plymouth: Halmosi, Doumbe

Scorers: Plymouth: Clark 5

Portsmouth: Diarra 34, Kranjcar 45

Referee: A Marriner

Attendance: 19,612

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