FOUR and a half months ago, Niko Kranjcar was part of the Croatia side that ended England's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 with a 3-2 win at Wembley.

That very same week, West Ham drew at home with Tottenham and gained a point that put them 10th in the Premier League table.

Some 137 days later, the aimless Irons are still marooned in 10th after Kranjcar's pinpoint 61st minute strike secured Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth - who will head back to Wembley for next month's FA Cup final - victory at Upton Park.

The former Hammers' manager's helter-skelter seven-year reign in E13 is fondly remembered for its brand of exciting, goal-filled football, but his return was anything but.

Before last night's game - witnessed by the lowest home Premier League gate of the season at the Boleyn Ground - Pompey had chimed a top-flight high five goalless draws this term.

And, until Kranjcar's opportunist intervention, they looked odds-on - as they are to win the FA Cup final against Cardiff City next month - to extend that record to six.

Stuck in no man's land since November 25, Alan Curbishley's team have been going through the motions for quite some time now.

And despite Curbishley's call for a victory that would close the gap on ninth-placed Manchester City to just two points, his side produced a clueless display that lacked almost everything.

The first half began in promising fashion, with Luis Boa Morte twice testing ex-Hammer David James with long-range strikes as the home side dominated possession.

On 17 minutes, the pressure should have told when Bobby Zamora - back in the side after missing the previous two matches with blisters - latched on to Pedro Mendes' mislaid pass and rounded James, only to drag his shot behind Sylvain Distin and wide of the far post.

Three minutes later, Scott Parker's penalty claims were waved away by referee Lee Probert after the midfielder claimed he had been impeded by another former Iron, Glen Johnson.

Portsmouth finally raised themselves from their post-celebration slumber on 24 minutes when David Nugent's 20-yard strike flew a yard wide.

Kranjcar gave an early indication of his intentions on the half-hour mark, nipping in front of a hesitant Lucas Neill before lashing a rasping drive wide from 20 yards.

The opening 45 minutes closed with a flurry of goalmouth action.

Pedro Mendes and Papa Bouba Diop then both tested Green with long-range efforts at one end, while Dean Ashton forced James into a scrambling stop at the other.

Kranjcar, who will be part of former Hammer Slaven Bilic's Croatia squad at this summer's finals, then took the game over.

Twice the 23-year-old fired well-struck shots narrowly off-target, but the Irons' defence clearly did not heed the warnings as the midfielder was afforded enough space on the edge of the penalty area to turn and toe-poke the ball powerfully past Robert Green from 20 yards.

Despite there being more than half-an-hour remaining West Ham, who have not beaten Portsmouth since January 1993 - 18-months before Redknapp took over at Upton Park - never once looked like finding an equaliser.