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Defending champions Portsmouth defeated a brave Bristol City to win their FA Cup third round replay 2-0 at Ashton Gate.

Peter Crouch opened the scoring in the 38th minute in acrimonious circumstances, after the striker appeared to handle the ball on the edge of his own area before slotting home at the other end.

City threw everything at their Premier League visitors, but missed numerous chances before Niko Kranjcar made them pay in the 88th minute.

Nicky Maynard then saw his 89th-minute penalty saved by David James.

In only the sixth minute of a pulsating encounter, Armand Traore was afforded space to forage forward down the left and the midfielder proceeded to unleash a fierce strike which Bristol City keeper Adriano Basso parried away for a corner.

Minutes later, a teasing delivery from Marc Wilson down the right brought an unconvincing punch from Basso, with Crouch nearly finding himself in a position to beat the stranded keeper.

However the Robins had their share of possession and a domineering run from Ivan Sproule into the Pompey area should have been rewarded with a clinical finish - but the midfielder sliced wide of James's near post with his weaker foot.

A minute later, James made a superb point-blank save from Marvin Elliott's diving header - denying what would have been a well-worked goal for the home side after the midfielder stooped low to nod Sproule's cross goalward.

Liam Fontaine then contrived to leave his side in a precarious situation as he tamely headed a back-pass to Basso with Nugent in attendance, but after intercepting the ball, the forward drifted out wide and the chance went awry.

In the 34th minute, an audacious strike from Maynard almost caught James off his line - the forward's 25-yard shot dipping just over.

At the other end Nugent stole a yard of space and struck Basso's near post after Crouch and Wilson had combined to take a quick throw-in with City half asleep.

But Pompey did get the crucial breakthrough in the 38th minute through Crouch after a powerful run by Traore down the right provided the big striker with a simple tap-in.

City appealed vociferously following the goal with Crouch clearly handling the ball on the edge of the box in the build-up, but the home side's protestations were dismissed by referee Mike Jones.

A bizarre but effective save from James followed as the keeper instinctively punched the ball clear one-handed on his line to prevent a Maynard header cancelling the home side's arrears.

The Robins piled the pressure on Pompey throughout the second half, but squandered numerous chances; Peter Styvar narrowly failed to get a decisive touch on Jamie McCombe's flick on in the 48th minute, while Lee Johnson missed the target with a free header from close-range after Bradley Orr's raking pass.

City were not alone in this, though, as a glaring miss by Crouch at the other end left Tony Adams dumbfounded on the sideline and his side still under pressure.

An impeccably-timed challenge from Glen Johnson then denied Maynard with the striker poised to strike past James from close-range; the ball fell to Elliott, whose well-struck shot brought a smart stop from James.

City were hit on the break late on, a classy run by Nadir Belhadj to the right by-line committing Basso and Kranjcar side-footed home to give the visitors a cushion.

The drama did not end there, however, as Maynard was tripped by Sol Campbell and referee Jones pointed to the spot; Maynard stepped up with a swagger but James saved.

Portsmouth can now look ahead to a home tie against Swansea in the fourth round.

Dan Querrey / Eurosport