Portsmouth 0 Barnsley 0: Adam Davies saves the day at Fratton Park

Woodrow and Moore’s prolific partnership had fired the Reds to a 13-game unbeaten run which has put them in pole position for automatic promotion from League One.

But it was the skipper Davies who they had to thank for extending that run to 14 games as he earned them a point in a 0-0 draw at promotion rivals Portsmouth.

Davies came to his side’s rescue in the 61st minute after Dimitri Cavare fouled Viv Solomon-Otabor in the box.

The 26-year-old dived to his right and denied on-loan Birmingham striker Omar Bogle from the spot.

It was enough to earn a clean sheet, which kept the gap over Pompey, back in fourth, to five points, though third-placed Sunderland cut it to two after they won.

Boss Daniel Stendel said: “We had a lot of pressure on our goal, it was not too easy.

“With the penalty we were very happy that our goalkeeper could save us. It was a great performance from Adam Davies.

“We’re very satisfied with Adam Davies’ performance today and it’s important that he is there when we need him and this was the case today.

“We have very good players for all positions, as well as our goalkeeper, and today he helped us to stay in the game.”

Cameron McGeehan came close to putting Barnsley ahead in the 36th minute, sending a shot over the crossbar.

And after Bogle’s miss in the second half, the Tykes could have snatched victory eight minutes from time but Alex Mowatt’s corner was met by Jacob Brown and his header was deflected onto the bar.

Stendel said: “I think it was a hard game but both teams wanted to win this game.

“We should have created more chances especially after the 50 minutes in the second half.

“I think it was the same level for both teams, both teams had chances, we had the biggest chances after the penalty.”

The goalless draw was Barnsley’s second in the space of four days following Tuesday’s stalemate with Burton at Oakwell.

Despite dropping four points, the Reds are in a strong position to secure an immediate return to the Championship.