Portsmouth midfielder Ebou Adams rescued a point for his side as they drew 1-1 with rivals Southampton at Fratton Park.

Leo Scienza broke the deadlock for Saints just before the hour mark as he slotted the ball past Pompey goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid after being slipped through by Finn Azaz.

Adams levelled the match with 13 minutes to go, sending the home fans into a frenzy with a header from close range.

The result lifts Portsmouth out of the Championship relegation zone into 21st place, while Southampton remain 15th.

Portsmouth started the game well, pinning Southampton deep in their half as a boisterous Fratton Park crowd roared their team on.

But it was the Saints who had the best chance in the opening exchanges as Adam Armstrong was played in behind by Azaz but could not finish past Schmid, who made a crucial save with his legs.

Moments later they came close again with Armstrong sliding on to the end of a cross and forcing Schmid into another big stop from close range.

Pompey had a claim for a penalty kick after 25 minutes when Ibane Bowat went down in the box after challenging for the ball, but referee Lewis Smith waved away the appeals.

Scienza then fired Southampton into the lead in the 57th minute after Azaz played him clean through on goal down the left-hand side.

The Brazilian just had Schmid to beat and he did so with ease, finishing with his right foot before wheeling off in celebration.

Tensions spilled over with about 20 minutes remaining as Flynn Downes and Zak Swanson squared up to each other after a heavy challenge by the Saints midfielder, creating a melee involving a number of players.

Portsmouth managed to find an equaliser in the 77th minute as Adrian Segecic's corner kick was deflected across goal by a Southampton player before Adams jumped the highest to head the ball into the goal from a few yards out.

Portsmouth showed character to come from behind and take a point.

Adams looked a force in the Pompey midfield, eventually getting a reward for his performance with a derby-day goal.

The Blues defenders also stepped up for this game, in a make-shift back four, with both starting centre-backs Regan Poole and Conor Shaughnessy out.

Portsmouth ended the game with four full-backs - Zak Swanson, Connor Ogilvie, Jordan Williams and Terry Devlin - seeing the game out in defence.

In terms of the bigger picture, Adams' goal also helped move his side out of the relegation zone, and still with a game in hand over the teams around them in the table.

The Blues used the Fratton Park atmosphere to their advantage during the game, having more of the ball and eventually getting the breakthrough after their pressure and persistence.

They are next back in league action on Saturday when they host West Bromwich Albion (15:00 GMT).

Despite having less of the ball in the game, Southampton had the clearer-cut chances, with Armstrong having two efforts well saved by Schmid in the first half.

Portsmouth looked to have more control of the game but Saints were dangerous throughout the match on the break and in the moments they did get forward.

Scienza had a fairly quiet game apart from his goal, while Azaz looked dangerous, pulling the strings in attack at the top of their midfield.

Tonda Eckert's side remain 15th in the Championship with eight points between them and the bottom three, and seven between them and the top six.

They next travel to Stoke City on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho told BBC Sport:

"It was a good and fair point considering the circumstances with our injuries and really shuffling the squad around.

"We'll be disappointed to not win the game overall with the chances we created, and we could have nicked it at the end.

"We're always going to be frustrated with the goal we conceded, we didn't lock off the situation well enough and gambled trying to play offside.

"But, overall, I think it was a fair result."

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert said:

"I think that the chances were quite clearly on our side, especially in the first half.

"And then when we do go up in the second half, we just need to make sure that we bring the game over the line. I think we deserved more.

"The 15 minutes after the first goal, we were clearly on top and you need to use those moments to score a second goal, and if you don't, you need to make sure you see a game out.

"It's a good corner, a scramble in the middle, and we need to just deal better with those situations.

"It's a non-negotiable that we have to leave everything on the pitch and we did this to a 100%."