Younes Kaboul stunned Sunderland with an undeserved equaliser deep into stoppage time.Kaboul scrambled the ball past keeper Marton Fulop, but his joy soured seconds later when he received his second yellow card for taking off his shirt as he celebrated.
The leveller was Sunderland's punishment for failing to take advantage over their overwhelming superiority against a Portsmouth side that lacked poise or passion.
The goal they did score was a well-worked one, though., in the 23rd minute.
Teenager Jordan Henderson outwitted Marc Wilson before crossing to Andy Reid, who set up Darren Bent for a crisp finish for his 10th goal of the season.
REACTION:
Grant refused to be critical of Kaboul for the celebration which will rule him out of the midweek game at Chelsea.
"It was a silly red card, but it's a silly rule, a stupid rule," said Grant.
"Somebody should explain why it is wrong if he takes his shirt off. One guy at Fifa must have woke up one morning and said that's the new rule.
"If a player scores in the last minute he needs to control himself, of course, but everybody was happy and celebrating, so he pulled off his shirt - big deal.
"What is the purpose of the rule? Can somebody explain it."
It would be harder to explain how Portsmouth emerged with a point, although Grant insisted it was a reward for their second-half improvement.
He said:"I am happy with the draw and I thought we deserved it. We didn't start as we wanted, but Sunderland didn't create many chances and David James did not have a lot to do.
"We know survival won't be easy. It will be very difficult, but it's but possible if we continue to believe.
"To take points, you need to show spirit and belief and intelligence and we showed it in the second half."
Bruce said:"We should have been out of sight well before their goal, but how often have we seen that happen when don't get the second goal? It puts everybody on edge in the last four or five minutes.
"We were when we gave the ball away, then we were hit with a sucker punch. It's something we didn't deserve, but you have to take your chances.
"A win would have given everybody a lift, but we gave it away too cheaply.
"It's something we don't deserve but you have to take your chances. Results have put my players under a bit of pressure,
HOW IT HAPPENED:
In an extraordinary fashion as Kaboul scored a goal that had looked unlikely in the previous 93 minutes. Portsmouth had not seriously troubled Sunderland keeper Marton Fulop until Kaboul scrambled in the ball and left Sunderland deflated.
Grant was probably as surprised as anybody, but was justifiably angry at Kaboul's celebration that led to his dismissal. For Sunderland, it was a reminder that you have to kill off teams when you have the chance. They could never feel safe with a one-goal lead, but there had been no hint of a Pompey leveller.
WHAT IT MEANS:
A difficult Monday for Sunderland's players, who will find Bruce in an angry mood at training after this failure to dispose of the poorest team they have faced this season. This was further proof that Sunderland are far from the finished article.
Portsmouth will be encouraged by the result but, in truth, the message from this match is that Grant faces a near-impossible task. They were simply awful for long stretches of the game and a single, late goal cannot disguise that fact..
QUOTABLE:
"All the bench took their shirts off - you should have seen the kitman's belly."
- Avram Grant finds some humour in Kaboul's dismissal
SUNDERLAND 1 (Bent 23 ) Portsmouth 1 (Kaboul 90 )
PLAYER MARKING:
Sunderland (4-4-2): Fulop 6; Nosworthy 9, Turner 6, Da Silva 6, McCartney 6; Campbell 6, Cana 7, Henderson 8, Reid 6; Jones 6 (Murphy 85,5), Bent 7 (Malbranque 90,5). Substitutes: Carson, Healy, Meyler, Anderson, Noble.
Portsmouth (4-5-1): James 6; Ben-Haim 5, Wilson 5, Kaboul 6, Hreidarsson 5; Yebda 5 (Webber 77,5), Brown 5, Hughes 5 (Diop 83,5), O'Hara 7, Dindane 4; Kanu 4 (Piquionne 62,5). Substitutes: Begovic, Belladj, Finnan, Mokoena.
ATTENDANCE: 37,578
NEXT UP
-Sunderland v Aston Villa (Home) Premier League 15/12, 1945 GMT
-Portsmouth v Chelsea (Away) Premier League 16/12, 1945 GMT
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Nyron Nosworthy (Sunderland). Not the most stylish of players, Nosworthy has been a fringe figure at Sunderland recently, but made the most of a rare first team chance as he marauded forward from right back and created several chances in an enterprising show.
