As it was the game finished 0-0 and Reading rued chances missed by John Salako and Nicky Forster. Despite the disappointment a point against Pompey, who are running away with the Division is creditable and means the Royals cling ontot heir fifth place.
Indeed, they are now level on points with fourth placed Nottingham Forest and third placed Norwich.
Reading assistant boss kevin Dillon admitted that the Royals pushed hard for the victory in the closing few minutes.
"I thought we could have nicked one near the end and Forster nearly did. In the last twenty minutes we went for a win, bringing on Watson, Cureton and Butler, but all credit to Portsmouth because they defended really well," he admitted, speaking to readingfc.co.uk.
"Shaka looked a bit stiff in the opening few few minutes, and we could have tested hima bit more, because he only had two real saves to make."
Despite not being fully fit former Arsenal and Aston Villa midfielder Paul Merson certainly gave the Royals defence the run-around, somethingt Dillon was quick to praise.
He added: "Paul Merson is one of the best players in the Division, and when he got the ball in the last third things could have happened, but we had a plan for him today and I think it worked well.
"The only time Portsmouth looked dangerous today was when they came at us on the counter-attack, but we defended well and they didn't have any real chances."
Reading face Sheffield United in their next league fixture, next Saturday.