GRAEME Souness has always admitted he would rather be a lucky manager than a good one. The Scot's Newcastle side has had more than its fair share of good fortune since they embarked on a record equalling eight consecutive victories last month - the wins against Chelsea and Tottenham in the FA Cup provided conclusive evidence of that.

But if things are to be evened out over a season then it would be fair to say United have deserved the wheel of fortune turning in their favour in recent weeks; after a largely luckless first-half campaign.

Former manager Bobby Robson certainly didn't get the rub of the green in the opening four games of the season, and Souness certainly had several games where the sun didn't shine at St James' Park. Games against Fulham, Manchester United, Everton and the visit of Pompey in December testify to that.

On Saturday lady luck was once again smiling on the Geordies. Unfortunately her toothy grin flashed in the direction of Portsmouth's Newcastle-born midfielder, Steve Stone, and not the visiting Tynesiders.

The self-confessed United fanatic, who poached a precious point for the home side when he turned in Lomana Lua Lua's shot-cum-cross from short range, was so far offside an arrest for loitering with intent would have been a fair charge.

Full-back Aaron Hughes was - along with Souness and the travelling Magpies' supporters - left flabbergasted by the assistant referee's lack of clarity regarding the offside rule.

"I think in the build up to their goal there was a foul on (Jean-Alain) Boumsong on the half-way line it was also offside," said an annoyed United boss. "I've seen it on the television.

"But I think we had a good first-half and we were controlling things. We got a goal and maybe could have got another through Laurent's (Robert) header. I would have liked to have got to half-time at 1-0. If we had done that I think we would have won the game, but we didn't."

Overall, the Newcastle boss says he was happy to leave the south coast with a point but admitted it was a good time for Pompey to play his side.

He said: "We went into the game with not everyone 100 per cent. Some people were carrying knocks and some not feeling their sharpest, so I think it would have been a good time to play us. But I felt we have given a good account of ourselves."

Newcastle were certainly the better side in the first-half and were unlucky not to take the lead on 37 minutes when Robert's close-range header crashed against the underside of goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown's crossbar before Dejan Stefanovic's clearance ricocheted off Nicky Butt and flashed wickedly wide of the post.

Five minutes later, Lee Bowyer got the better of Matthew Taylor on the right before sending over a tantalising cross, which Linvoy Primus misheaded into Kieron Dyer's path and he glanced past Ashdown from close range.

Andy O'Brien was arguably Newcastle's best player on the day and gave a commanding performance alongside Boumsong - his two goal saving tackles in the first period ensured the home side were unable to gain the upper hand.

Former fans' favourite LuaLua was the Portsmouth danger man and was relishing the battle against his ex-team-mates. The question Newcastle fans were asking was why he had to spoil the relationship by kissing the Pompey badge in front of the travelling supporters.

In doing so ensured a warm reception on his future visits to Tyneside.

It was no surprise, like last season, he was the United nemesis, supplying the pass for Stone to level in first-half stoppage time.

The Democratic Republic of Congo man displayed all his usual trickery juxtaposed with his infuriating tendancy to make a mess of the simple things.

Despite not getting the rub of the green in the hard-fought draw at Fratton Park the Newcastle manager was magnanimous in adversity.

"We can't complain about lady luck, we've had a fair slice of it in the last nine games," said Souness. "We didn't get much of it here but I'm not unhappy about getting a 1-1 because they're fighting for their lives. The amount of players who were booked - OK half of them didn't deserve to be - shows their determination to remain in this league."

Souness believes Matt Messias is a capable referee but even he was confused by the official's pedantic performance. The York- based referee flashed nine yellow cards in a competitive but hardly dirty match. Souness confronted Messias on the full-time whistle and was seen to have mouthed "what was that all about"? But given his propensity for criticising referees and receiving fines the United chief took a prudent view after the game.

"I think he is a good referee but I think he had an exceptionally poor day," said a diplomatic Souness.

The Newcastle players, not on international duty this week, now head to Dubai for a five-day break in a bid to recharge their batteries for an up-and-coming gruelling six match schedule in 17 days.

United fans don't need reminding about the last time their team took a trip to the Middle East for a break and, another eight match winning sequence would do very nicely. It would set up another visit to Cardiff for an FA Cup final and ensure one foot was entrenched in the UEFA Cup final.

Souness commented: "We'll come back from the break to a very busy period. We have to jam in a couple of UEFA Cup games; some Premier League games and then three days after our UEFA Cup second leg we have Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final at Cardiff. With all the travelling and all the games it will be a very demanding time for us. So we're happy for the break."

He quipped: "Unfortunately we have ten internationals away so hopefully none of them play, but I think some of them will."

Fans hoping for lucky omens as United strive on two fronts to win some silverware shouldn't look too hard.

Newcastle's first game back after the international break in a fortnight's time pits their wits against Aston Villa at St James' Park.

It could be argued that United's luck changed for the worse after last season's fixture against Villa. O'Brien was sent off and Craig Bellamy, Jermaine Jenas and Dyer all missed the rest of the season through injuries picked up in the clash.

But then again, why can't the Magpies' luck change? Souness has been lucky enough to win some silverware at every club he has managed.

Result: Portsmouth 1, Newcastle United 1.

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