In a basement battle, Hull City were held to a 0-0 draw by Portsmouth in a drab affair at the KC Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Anthony Gardner played for the first time since August, coming in for Ibrahima Sonko, and became the seventh Tiger to captain the side so far this season.

Having picked up a leg injury in the midweek reserves game, there was no place in the squad for Jimmy Bullard.

There were two other changes as Seyi Olofinjana and Bernard Mendy came in for Kevin Kilbane and Kamel Ghilas.

Nick Barmby took a place on the bench, as did Richard Garcia and Will Atkinson.

Bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth started well and were almost in front inside the opening minute.

Gardner's misplaced header fell for Tommy Smith who raced through but fired wide of the far post.

At the other end, Geovanni's fourth-minute free kick from 25 yards went over.

Stephen Hunt's free kick from the right touchline caused problems for Portsmouth as it bounced off the wet surface and evaded everybody, forcing David James into a save.

A good move from City involving Andy Dawson and Geovanni presented Dean Marney with a shooting opportunity, but he fired over with his left foot from just outside the box.

Other than those early exchanges, creative football and chances were at a premium as both sides struggled to gain the upper hand.

Half Time: Tigers 0-0 Portsmouth

City started the second half brightly, winning a couple of early corners, but the deliveries from Geovanni and Hunt weren't good enough to give Portsmouth cause for concern.

Marney was booked on 53 minutes for fouling Aruna Dindane while Aaron Mokoena followed the City man into the book a minute later for a trip on Geovanni.

Boaz Myhill had to be at his best when Jamie O'Hara's free kick into the box dropped for Dindane. His shot was beaten away before Dindane's follow-up was deflected away for a corner. From the set-piece, Smith fired wide after the ball fell at his feet.

Myhill was at his best again in the 63rd minute, turning Hassan Yebda's free attempt away for a corner.

City made their first change on 71 minutes as Barmby replaced Mendy before Garcia came on for Hunt three minutes later.

A mistake from Myhill saw him spill the ball outside his area and in his attempt to make up for the error, he tripped Kevin-Prince Boateng to concede a free kick on the edge of the 'D'. Myhill was also booked. O'Hara curled the free kick over the bar.

City's final substitution came with a minute remaining as Ghilas came on for Marney.

During three minutes of added time, Myhill picked up an injury while kicking the ball downfield but carried on after treatment.

Tigers (4-4-2) Boaz Myhill; Paul McShane, Kamil Zayatte, Anthony Gardner [captain], Andy Dawson; Bernard Mendy (Barmby 71), Dean Marney (Ghilas 89), Seyi Olofinjana, Stephen Hunt (Garcia 74); Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Geovanni.

Subs: Matt Duke, Steven Mouyokolo, Kevin Kilbane, Will Atkinson, Richard Garcia, Kamel Ghilas, Nick Barmby.

Bookings: Marney 53, Myhill 87.

Portsmouth (4-3-3) David James; Steve Finnan, Younes Kaboul, Marc Wilson, Tal Ben Haim; Hassan Yebda, Jamie O'Hara, Aaron Mokoena; Kevin-Prince Boateng, Aruna Dindane, Tommy Smith (Piquionne 65).

Subs: Jamie Ashdown, Hayden Mullins, Frederic Piquionne, Anthony Vanden Borre, Danny Webber, Nwankwo Kanu, Nadir Belhadj.

Bookings: Mokoena 54.