Newcastle Utd - 1 Portsmouth - 1: While Newcastle airport seems to be acquiring new flights to European destinations on an almost weekly basis, the chances of the city's football team visiting any of them next season are receding fast.

Indeed, if Graeme Souness's side want to play on the continent in autumn 2005 they will probably have to lift either this term's UEFA or FA Cup. Failure to collect three points on Saturday meant Newcastle have won only one of their last seven Premiership games and the underwhelmed fan who hurled a season ticket in the manager's direction reflected a collective frustration festering inside St James' Park.

"I've got to take the criticism; that's the price on the ticket," said Souness, who was without the injured Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert. "I can understand the crowd's frustration. We've got so many quality performers but we haven't come up with the right formula."

It seemed like he might have hit on something after Newcastle took the lead with Lee Bowyer's exquisite third minute connection, when he directed a stunning half-volley into the top right-hand corner from the edge of the area after being played in by the overlapping Steven Taylor. But, rather than rip up a game plan centred on a five-man midfield designed to smother Newcastle before possibly sneaking a goal on the counter-attack, Joe Jordan, Portsmouth's caretaker manager, refused to panic.

Suddenly Dejan Stefanovic barred Bowyer's path. With Gary O'Neil ensuring Kieron Dyer did virtually nothing right, Amdy Faye gradually eclipsing Jermaine Jenas and Andy Griffin restricting James Milner to one volleyed chance, the service to Craig Bellamy and Shola Ameobi petered out accordingly.

Even so both home forwards disappointed, allowing themselves to be dominated by Linvoy Primus and Arjan de Zeeuw and never looking like scoring after Steve Stone's equaliser.

The goal originated with Stefanovic getting a free header from a corner. Though Bowyer almost cleared it, the ball fell to O'Neil, who tapped it into the path of Stone whose deflected shot wrong-footed Shay Given.

"We weren't prepared to give an inch and prevented a very talented side, who could have turned us over, from getting the upper hand," said Jordan.