Pompey are out of the FA Cup - but they exit the competition with their heads held high after giving Premier League Bournemouth a mighty scare at a sold-out Fratton Oark.

They led at half-time thanks to one of the best team goals surely even seen at the ground - scored by Gary Roberts - but couldn't hold on when the Cherries sent on reinforcements in the second half.

Christian Burgess, Ben Close and Adam McGurk were all brought into a side who looked up for the task ahead of them right from kick-off.

Sylvain Distin got a warm reception from the home fans when he appeared in Bournemouth's starting line-up, as did Matt Ritchie, who was among their subs.

Pompey spent most of the opening stages on the attack, with Marc McNulty putting one sidefooted effort wide and having another saved by Adam Federici.

Bournemouth had few spells of pressure but did go close with a free kick by Eunan O’Kane, while Ryan Fulton saved well from a Juan Iturbe shot.

Pompey went ahead two minutes before half-time at the end of a long, flowing passing move when Bournemouth simply could not get the ball off them. Pompey played it left, right, forward and back and eventually McNulty squared it for Roberts, who took a touch and fired low past Federici - as three sides of the ground erupted.

Some fans greeted the half-time whistle as though it was the full-time signal as the euphoria at the goal and the first-half display continued.

The Blues wanted a penalty early in the second half as Enda Stevens took a tumble but Mike Dean was not interested.

Kyle Bennett played in Roberts with a brilliant piece of skill but he lost his balance as he shot before what turned out to be the game's pivotal moment - the introduction of Ritchie and Marc Pugh.

Gradually Bournemouth began to have more of the ball in the Pompey half and despite Pompey freshening things up themselves with Gareth Evans and Adam Webster replacing Roberts and Burgess, the Cherries levelled with 20 minutes left.

Ben Davies conceded a free-kick wide on the Bournemouth left and when O'Kane swung it in, Joshua King glanced in a near-post header.

Bennett's free-kick minutes later was goalbound but kept out by Federici before Ben Tollitt came on for McGurk.

It was Bournemouth creating chances more regularly by now, though, and they got the winner with seven minutes left when Fulton saved well from Lewis Grabban but the ball flew up and was headed in by Pugh, via Webster's desperate attempt to clear on the line.

Four added minutes were not enough for Pompey to seriously threaten an equaliser, and so it is Bournemouth who go into the fifth round, while the Blues look back with pride on their own Cup run and get down to the small matter of trying to play their way out of League Two.

Pompey: Fulton; Davies, Burgess (Webster 62), Clarke, Stevens; Close, Doyle (c); McGurk (Tollitt 77), Roberts (Evans 62), Bennett; McNulty. Subs not used: Jones, Barton, Naismith, Chaplin

Referee: Mike Dean

Attendance: 18,901 (2,885 away fans)

Photo: Action Images

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