It was heartbreak for Preston as Portsmouth snatched a dramatic last-gasp winner to send themselves into the last eight of the FA Cup.

A Darren Carter own-goal deep into stoppage time was enough to steal an eventful tie at Deepdale after Simon Whaley earlier had a penalty expertly saved by David James.

Indeed, Pompey's players had the England International to thank after the 37-year-old produced a string of world class saves in the second half to keep his side in the game.

It was a sickening way to lose the tie, especially as Preston performed so heroically at both ends to more than match their Premiership opponents.

But the timing of the goal was harsh on all connected with North End, and doubly so for Darren Carter who unfortunately slammed the ball into his own goal when attempting to clear a Nico Kranjcar corner.

It sent the 1,500 travelling fans into delirium, who now must have one eye on a trip to Wembley especially as there are only a select few Premiership teams remaining in the competition.

The hype prior to kick-off centred on David Nugent, making his first return to Deepdale since departing for £6m in the summer. Injury prevented the former North End hero from turning out against his old team mates as he was forced to sit alongside his good pal Sean St Ledger in the stands.

The Preston centre-half was also forced to miss out, serving a one-match suspension for his red card picked up at Colchester in the week. That meant Alan Irvine had to make at least one change with French defender Youl Mawene slotting into the starting XI for the first time since his sending off against West Brom last month.

The enforced change didn't seem to hamper Preston in the opening moments, although it was John Utaka who curled the visitors' first effort of the game into the Town End after capitalising on a slight fumble from Andy Lonergan. It was a rather even opening to the cup tie with Karl Hawley and Chris Brown putting Pompey's back line under as much pressure as they possibly could.

Indeed it was the North End tactic of pressing at every possible moment that earned their first chance of the game when Diop's sliced clearance fell amongst the travelling fans. From a similar situation to which Preston got their winner against Coventry the week prior, Darren Carter troubled David James with another of his devilish inswinging corners.

The game ebbed and flowed for a short while before Whaley miscued an opportunity he should have done better with on 21 minutes. After Hawley had spotted the winger free inside the box, Whaley's finish at the second attempt lacked composure and he sliced it wide from a promising position 10 yards out.

Kranjcar blazed over with a speculative left-foot effort midway through the opening period, and then only five minutes later, he developed an even better chance for himself as he floated in unmarked to head a tame effort straight at Andy Lonergan from the penalty spot mark.

But North End continued to compete and forced a couple of corners in the latter stages of the half, one which David James claimed comfortably and another that Simon Whaley drilled over the bar with his weaker left foot.

Back up the other end and Andy Lonergan produced a world class save to deny Ghanaian winger Sulley Muntari from his 30-yard free-kick. The North End stopper, who has been enjoying a fine spell of form in recent weeks, dived full reach to tip the number eleven's shot over the crossbar.

Darren Carter was slightly off-target with a long range attempt just on the stroke of the half time whistle, but at the break PNE fans would have been more than happy with what they saw from their side in the first 45 minutes.

The opening exchanges of the second period saw Pompey carve out two half-chances down the right with Diarra stroking dangerous crosses along the face of Andy Lonergan's goal. It was a frantic restart with Glen Johnson, on a marauding run from right-back, thundering in a 25-yard shot which was well held by the Preston keeper.

Paul McKenna, looking for his goal of the season, had a shot wide from the edge of the box whilst Simon Whaley's claim for a penalty fell on deaf ears.

Campbell's looping header floated harmlessly wide of the post on 55 minutes as the game started to gain the feel of a proper cup tie. The pace increased, the crowd became more animated and chances came at a fast and furious rate.

Alas, on 60 minutes Preston spurned a glorious opportunity to put one foot in the quarter-final when Simon Whaley had a spot-kick saved by the giant David James. Billy Jones took a tumble inside the box under a mistimed Sylvain Distin challenge and when referee Mike Dean pointed to the penalty spot, Preston's number 15 stepped up.

But, in all too familiar fashion this season, Whaley failed to convert from 12-yards-out, with the England International diving to his right to prevent the wide man from opening the scoring.

It was an intense period of pressure from the home side, with Chris Brown and Darren Carter also seeing decent attempts saved by the former Liverpool keeper.

Neil Mellor was introduced with 20 minutes remaining, Alan Irvine hoping for a repeat from the striker as he did at Colchester earlier in the week when he came off the bench to grab a goal.

Andy Lonergan had to race out of his box to prevent Muntari from latching onto Paul McKenna's defensive header but it was Preston who continued to dominate the second half, James producing a virtuoso performance in goal to keep his side in the match. This time he dived full stretch to palm away Mellor's dribble-and-shot in front of a baying Town End with just over 15 minutes left on the clock.

It was becoming a tale of two goalkeepers with Andy Lonergan also putting in a commanding performance in the PNE goal, this time denying John Utaka who had cut in from the right-wing.

The electrically charged tie continued to sustain its ferocious pace into the dying minutes with Papa Bouba Diop lashing a long range shot over the bar, only seconds after Darren Carter failed to find the feet of Callum Davidson who had broke down the left touchline.

As the fourth official indicated three minutes of stoppage time, North End fans were hoping that their team could survive and force a replay at Fratton Park. However, it wasn't to be as Carter's instinctive clearance heartbreakingly landed in the roof of Andy Lonergan's goal, tarnishing what had been a truly tremendous effort from the Lilywhites.