Rate it!

11 votes

Portsmouth claimed their first points of the season after Hassan Yebda's first-half header gave the Premier League's bottom club a 1-0 win over Wolves at Molineux.

Yebda swooped in the 19th minute to break Pompey's duck so far this campaign and hand manager Paul Hart a welcome three points.

Victory was not enough to lift Pompey off the bottom of the table, but the way Hart's charges battled for the points during a second half in which Wolves laid siege to Pompey's goalmouth will have given the manager much to take from the game.

As far as bad weeks go, the past seven days must rank as one of the worst in Pompey's long history. Pointless heading into the game in the Black Country, moneyless and with their owner in hospital, Pompey fans could have been forgiven for wondering if their situation could get any worse.

Fortunately, despite having hastily assembled a patchwork team as the transfer window neared its closure, Hart is starting to get the best out of his players as his squad finally begins to gel.

A first glimpse of that was witnessed during the 1-0 defeat to Everton last weekend, when Pompey were unlucky not to get at least a point, and it continued at Molineux, where Hart's troops put in another encouraging display.

Pompey started by the far the better side as they took the game to their hosts and looked to capitalise on a frail defence that shipped five a week ago.

Kevin-Prince Boateng fired an early warning shot, the former Tottenham midfielder forcing Wayne Hennessey into making a smart save at his near post in the sixth minute.

Boateng, who failed to make the grade at White Hart Lane, is one who is blooming under Hart since his summer switch, and he went close to opening the scoring for a second time with a long-range effort on 16 minutes.

Pompey's promising early play was rewarded three minutes later, Yebda stooping to meet Boateng's excellent whipped cross with a firm header past Hennessey. And it came as no surprise to see that Hart was one of the first to congratulate the on-loan Benfica man as the midfielder ran straight to his manager on the sidelines.

Aruna Dindane, another of Pompey's on-loan foreign legion, could have doubled the visitors' lead on the half-hour mark but Hennessey managed to get a big hand to his poke goalwards and Tommy Smith's follow-up flew wide of the mark.

Wolves themselves had enjoyed a couple of half-chances prior to conceding - Matt Jarvis tested David James from distance and Kevin Doyle lofted a dipping volley just over the bar - but Yebda's effort forced them to raise their game and they went on to enjoy the better of the remainder of the first half.

Having made a double change at half-time - Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Michael Kightly replaced Andy Keogh and Kevin Foley - the hosts continued their ascendency, despite a Dindane header which brought a save out of Hennessey soon after the restart.

Jarvis saw another long-range shot deflected over the bar, Greg Halford headed wide and Christophe Berra glanced a header off target before Wolves had a big penalty shout turned down by referee Howard Webb.

As Kightly's cross came over on the hour mark, Marc Wilson stooped in a bid to chest the ball to safety but, while replays showed it to have hit his upper arm, the referee opted against awarding a spot kick.

Undeterred, the hosts piled forward and as time ticked on, Pompey's backline came under intense scrutiny. It was a test they were to ultimately pass, but itneeded a top-drawer save from David James to deny a brilliantly-worked free-kick from Halford with just two minutes remaining to secure all three points.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport