UPON arriving at the Store First Stadium the Portsmouth coach driver revealed that he didn’t plan to return, with Pompey plotting a late push for the play-offs and promotion back to League One.

After Accrington Stanley dominated the first period of an entertaining game and then battled manfully with 10 men to draw 1-1, the man at the wheel may have to rethink next season’s travel plans.

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Just a point and two League Two places separated football’s “Biggest Little Club” and the visiting former FA Cup winners and Premier League giants and they proceeded to produce a superb advert for fourth tier football.

Early on it was Stanley keeper Scott Davies called into action, diving at the feet of Matt Tubbs and holding a tame shot from Josh Passley but soon it was the home team on the front foot.

Josh Windass is a man in fine form and proved to be unstoppable in the early exchanges. First he was only denied a goalscoring opportunity by a last ditch interception from Joe Devera before he produced a moment of quality nobody could do anything about.

James Dunne fouled Kal Naismith around 25 yards out on the left side of the pitch and Windass stepped up to bend the ball sublimely over the wall and past Paul Jones to register his third goal in four games and give the Reds a 1-0 lead.

The advantage lasted just four minutes. Pompey levelled when Davies failed to punch Dan Butler’s corner clear and instead guided the ball straight onto the head of Ryan Taylor, who nodded in his seventh goal of the season from close range.

Parity restored, it was time for an attacking onslaught from John Coleman’s team. Naismith, in the side for Michael Liddle, headed straight at Jones before Andy Procter volleyed emphatically into the side netting from a Dean Winnard cross.

Down the right flank Piero Mingoia was giving Portsmouth nightmares and it was his cross that brought the home side their best chance of the lot. The former Watford man capped a mazy run with a perfect delivery only for Windass to pounce and smash the ball over the bar.

Moments later the same pair combined, with Windass unable to find the target from a tight angle and Naismith only able to stretch and guide the ball wide.

After Stanley dominance the visitors came to the fore before the break with Butler hitting the angle of post and bar from a free kick and Davies racing brilliantly from his goal to thwart Tubbs.

Sadly, the chances of a similar second period were ended eight minutes after the restart. Having lost the ball in the Portsmouth left back area Anthony Barry tried too hard to atone, clattering high into Danny Hollands and receiving a straight red card.

Now Stanley had to keep it tight and central defender Rob Atkinson, Matt Crooks and Winnard shone as they did just that.

In truth the Reds didn’t look at a numerical disadvantage and were furious with referee Rob Lewis when he failed to show Pompey captain Paul Robinson a second yellow despite persistent infringements and denied Mingoia a penalty when he was bundled over in the box.

Pressure was applied on the Stanley goal late on but Davies didn’t have a save to make, with Jed Wallace cutting in the final minute and skimming the top of the bar for Portsmouth’s best chance.

A point each meant the sides were just a place apart come full time. It’s probably for the best the coach driver keeps Livingstone Road in his sat nav.