Ice formed on the shoreline near Fratton Park on Saturday and a chill wind blew through the decrepit old stadium. Portsmouth, the holders, produced little to warm the heart or soul against Bristol City, in the drabbest of FA Cup third-round ties, and little to suggest that the rest of their season will be anything other than fraught.

Portsmouth were mostly clueless and, with Jermain Defoe at home suffering from a runny nose, mostly toothless, too. That Peter Crouch was forced to play alone up front, with David Nugent, a striker, used wide on the right, was another reason to challenge the increasingly questionable tactics of Tony Adams, the manager.

Jeers greeted the final whistle as the Portsmouth fans recognised that the club’s hold on the Cup, which they won by beating Cardiff City at Wembley Stadium in May, could be brief. City merited a replay, at Ashton Gate on January 13, for their scurrying endeavours and may finish the job if Portsmouth fail to recover from their listlessness.

Portsmouth (4-1-4-1): D James 6 – M Cranie 6 (sub: N Pamarot, 82min), S Campbell 5, S Distin 5, N Belhadj 6 – S Davis 6 – D Nugent 4, M Wilson 6, A Mvuemba 6, N Kranjcar 6 – P Crouch 4. Substitutes not used: A Begovic, Lauren, H Hreidarsson, G Little, Kanu, A Traoré. Booked: Belhadj.

Bristol City (4-3-1-2): A Basso 5 – B Orr 6, L Carey 6, J McCombe 6, L Fontaine 6 – M Elliott 5, C Skuse 5, P Styvar 6 (sub: J McAllister, 83) – L Johnson 7 – I Sproule 7 (sub: G Williams, 64 5), S John 5 (sub: D Adebola, 62 4). Substitutes not used: S Henderson, D Noble, J Akinde. Booked: John.

Referee P Dowd Attendance 14,446

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