If there’s one scoreline the punters wouldn’t have bet on then this was surely it.

First of all, you had the Premier League’s two most prolific partnerships going head to head, as the eight-goal pairing of John Carew and Gabby Agbonlahor took on the other of Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch.

Add to that a Villa side who have again found goals far easier to come by than clean sheets.

Their opponents? They, perhaps most promisingly of all, arrived with the unenviable record of having conceded more on their travels in the top flight than anyone else.

All the ingredients were in place for a footballing feast but instead the Villa Park crowd were forced to settle for scraps. Someone forgot to include goals on the menu.

The truth was the game never got out of second gear and, remarkably, it was not until the 75th minute that ex-Villa keeper David James had to make a save. So, was this two points lost or one gained?

Villa boss Martin O’Neill suggested afterwards it was definitely the former, claiming it would have been no injustice if his side had walked away the victors.

O’Neill was eager to wrap up three points to restore Villa’s momentum after their early-season charge came crashing to a halt at Chelsea a fortnight ago.

It didn’t materialise and, despite seeing September’s perfect nine out of nine return followed up by a rather disappointing one from six so far in October, it will hardly give him cause to hit the panic button.

Saturday saw Middlesbrough become the latest side to be taught a lesson by Luiz Felipe Scolari’s rampant leaders and Pompey are a side on a very similar journey to Villa.

Like O’Neill’s men, the FA Cup holders are facing up to the prospect of juggling a domestic and European campaign as the reward for last season’s success.

Already, the table suggests there will be little to choose between them again and this 90 minutes did nothing to suggest otherwise. Looking on the bright side, already Villa have taken more points off Pompey than they did last year.

The fact remains Villa are still in hot pursuit of the usual suspects and of the so-called second tier of Premier League sides it is they leading the chase.

A quick glance at the fortunes of Everton, Tottenham and Newcastle – all of whom find themselves in the lower reaches of the table – provides further cause for optimism. Perhaps as big a surprise as Saturday’s scoreline was O’Neill’s starting line-up.

Finally, the Villa boss let Carlos Cuellar and James Milner off the leash by handing them their first Premier League starts.

The ones to make way certainly came as a shock. It wasn’t Curtis Davies or Nigel Reo-Coker who were ousted, rather £10m worth of full-backs in the shape of Luke Young and Nicky Shorey.

Neither have set the world alight since their summer arrivals but they are the only specialist players O’Neill currently has in their position.

It didn’t stop him dropping them in what was one of the Villa manager’s biggest selection gambles in his time at the club.

Cuellar came in at right-back and Barry was switched to left-back with Reo-Coker coming into the centre of midfield and Milner taking his position on the right flank. The quartet performed to varying degrees of success but there was one who shone above all the others – Barry.

Were he not such a fine midfielder Shorey, an England international himself let’s not forget, could expect plenty more afternoons sat on the sidelines.

Harry Redknapp spoke in the build-up to the game of how he previously almost signed him and this was a reminder to the Pompey boss of what he missed out on.

Tactically he was superb, making one fine challenge to deny Defoe, and his cool head when in possession brings a calmness to the rest of the back four. If only there were two of him.

Villa’s defensive gain was the midfield’s loss and Barry’s probing balls and intelligent forward runs were missing from their game – despite the best efforts of Reo-Coker and Stiliyan Petrov who had decent games.

Barry is a vital part in Villa’s attacking chain, so often the catalyst for the moves finished off by Ashley Young, Carew and Agbonlahor further down the line.

It was Davies of all people who came close to breaking the deadlock after 17 minutes but, disappointingly, he blazed over from close range.

Pompey were a whisker away from taking the lead after 28 minutes when Armand Traore’s shot rattled the post. The rebound hit Friedel on the back and Davies scuffed the clearance straight to Defoe only four yards out but he somehow hooked his shot high and wide.

Chances continued to be at a premium in the second half, although referee Mike Riley did the game few favours with his whistle-happy approach.

Agbonlahor had a shout for a penalty when he was clumsily clattered by James while down the other end Barry and Laursen both made fine recovery tackles to stop Defoe.

Frustrations were beginning to boil over and it was no surprise when Sean Davis was dismissed for a second offence on Petrov.

Carew was inches away from stealing it late on when his header clipped the crossbar but what proved to be the game’s biggest talking point subsequently followed.

Referee’s assistant Phil Sharp was struck by a 50p thrown from the crowd and the official needed treatment before being able to continue.

It cast a dark cloud over the day and suddenly a forgettable game became memorable for all the wrong reasons.