Pompey had dominated the opening half-hour, but it looked like they were about to fall behind at Accrington.
Referee Stephen Martin pointed to the spot after Craig MacGillivray had brought down Billy Kee in the box.
But the keeper certainly redeemed himself, flinging himself to the right to keep out the Accrington striker’s penalty.
He was not quite as sure as his manager about the decision, but pleased to stop the Blues falling behind.
MacGillivray said: “I’m not sure. He’s done me like a kipper by throwing his leg back and pretending to shoot.
“I’ve gone to spread myself and have either made contact with him or he’s just fallen over my leg.
"It was a bit of a guess. He went to the left last time, so I thought I’d go to the right."
“I probably shouldn’t have gone in when I did and just stayed up because he wasn’t going near the goal.
“It was a bit of a guess. He went to the left last time, so I thought I’d go to the right. He said to me afterwards that he doesn’t know where he’s going to go until he runs up.
“I’m just thankful that I’ve chosen the right way and made the save. That’s my first penalty stop in three, so I’m pleased.”
MacGillivray was less happy with Pompey’s failure to win, as Oli Hawkins’ second half goal was instantly cancelled out by Michael Ihiekwe in a 1-1 draw.
He said: “We know that we have to put away more of those chances – especially when we’re away from home.
“Accrington are very hard to beat and so of course it’s frustrating, but at least we’ve come away with a point.
“You want to ride the next 5-10 minutes when you score because you know the opposition will be fighting to get back into the game.
“But then they’ve got the equaliser straight away and it does kind of knock the wind out of you a little bit.”