Portsmouth 0 West Ham United 0: Green's 'great' saves should have England on red alert

David James kept his fifth clean sheet in his last six matches, but it was the England goalkeeper at the other end of the pitch who was the focus of attention at Fratton Park on Saturday. Robert Green's injury-time penalty save from Benjani Mwaruwari preserved the point for which his team had fought so hard and capped a near-faultless display by the West Ham United goalkeeper.

With Paul Robinson's England place under threat before next month's decisive round of Euro 2008 qualifiers, the majority of national opinion seems to favour either a recall for James, who is enjoying a golden autumn to his career on the South Coast, or a switch to youth in the shape of Aston Villa's Scott Carson. Green, however, has been reinforcing his own case for a recall.

"I think he's always been on the threshold of England and they are fully aware of him," Alan Curbishley, the West Ham manager, said on Saturday night. Before the last squad announcement I spoke to Steve McClaren, who was interested in Dean Ashton and one or two others, and Greenie got a mention.

"The message to Robert now is: 'Keep going and let's see what happens.' He can't do anything else. The penalty save will get the headlines but he made two great saves in the early minutes of the second half that were equally important."

Green stood firm when Mwaruwari struck a crashing drive from 25 yards after 53 minutes, while his save from Niko Kranjcar's curling shot early on was even better.

After initial pressure, however, Portsmouth struggled to break down West Ham's well-organised defence. Curbishley had adopted a cautious approach as Portsmouth sought a fifth successive Premier League win, which would have seen them rise to fourth in the table, and played with a lone striker in Carlton Cole. Injuries have left Curbishley short of attacking options and the half-time exit of Craig Bellamy with an abdominal injury has added to his problems. The Wales striker will not be able to face Coventry City in tomorrow's Carling Cup game and it is not clear when he may be fit.

But West Ham were impressive on the counter-attack and had the best two chances. Both fell to Nolberto Solano, who can be a magician with the ball at his feet but runs out of tricks when it is in the air. In the first half the Peruvian drifted behind Sylvain Distin at the far post, only to make a hash of his header from Cole's smart cross. In the second Cole set up an even better chance. The striker's shot hit the bar but Solano, diving to head the rebound into an unguarded net, missed from five yards.

All West Ham's hard work could have been undone when Mike Dean awarded a penalty for Danny Gabbidon's handball three minutes into stoppage time. Kranjcar and Sulley Muntari were Harry Red-knapp's preferred penalty-takers but, to the manager's displeasure, Mwaruwari insisted on taking it.

The Zimbabwean's seven goals have taken him to the top of the Premier League scoring charts this season but did not save him from a dressing-down after the match.

"Benjani worked his socks off as usual for us but he won't be taking another penalty," Redknapp said. "I told him: 'You're a silly boy.' He just sat there. Now I wish I hadn't bollocked him. He probably won't eat his fish and chips now, will he?"

Portsmouth (4-3-2-1): James; Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson; Bouba Diop, Mendes, Muntari; Utaka (Kanu, 77), Kranjcar; Mwaruwari. Substitutes not used: Ashdown (gk), Lauren, Taylor, Pamarot.

West Ham United (4-3-2-1): Green; Neill, Gabbidon, Upson, McCartney; Solano (Spector, 78), Noble, Mullins; Bellamy (Etherington, h-t), Boa Morte; Cole (Ferdinand, 90). Substitutes not used: Wright (gk), Camara.

Referee: M Dean (Wirral).

Booked:Portsmouth Hreidarsson, Bouba Diop; West Ham: Bellamy, Noble, Solano, Cole.

Man of the match: Kranjcar.

Attendance: 20,525.