FA Cup - Portsmouth defence begins with win

Eurosport - Wed, 14 Jan 11:57:00 2009

Defending champions Portsmouth defeated a brave Bristol City to win their FA Cup third round replay 2-0 at Ashton Gate.

FOOTBALL; Peter Crouch, Portsmouth, Jan 2009 - 0

Peter Crouch opened the scoring in the 38th minute in acrimonious circumstances, after the striker appeared to handle the ball on the edge of his own area before slotting home at the other end.

City threw everything at their Premier League visitors, but missed numerous chances before Niko Kranjcar made them pay in the 88th minute.

Nicky Maynard then saw his 89th-minute penalty saved by David James.

In only the sixth minute of a pulsating encounter, Armand Traore was afforded space to forage forward down the left and the midfielder proceeded to unleash a fierce strike which Bristol City keeper Adriano Basso parried away for a corner.

Minutes later, a teasing delivery from Marc Wilson down the right brought an unconvincing punch from Basso, with Crouch nearly finding himself in a position to beat the stranded keeper.

However the Robins had their share of possession and a domineering run from Ivan Sproule into the Pompey area should have been rewarded with a clinical finish - but the midfielder sliced wide of James's near post with his weaker foot.

A minute later, James made a superb point-blank save from Marvin Elliott's diving header - denying what would have been a well-worked goal for the home side after the midfielder stooped low to nod Sproule's cross goalward.

Liam Fontaine then contrived to leave his side in a precarious situation as he tamely headed a back-pass to Basso with Nugent in attendance, but after intercepting the ball, the forward drifted out wide and the chance went awry.

In the 34th minute, an audacious strike from Maynard almost caught James off his line - the forward's 25-yard shot dipping just over.

At the other end Nugent stole a yard of space and struck Basso's near post after Crouch and Wilson had combined to take a quick throw-in with City half asleep.

But Pompey did get the crucial breakthrough in the 38th minute through Crouch after a powerful run by Traore down the right provided the big striker with a simple tap-in.

City appealed vociferously following the goal with Crouch clearly handling the ball on the edge of the box in the build-up, but the home side's protestations were dismissed by referee Mike Jones.

A bizarre but effective save from James followed as the keeper instinctively punched the ball clear one-handed on his line to prevent a Maynard header cancelling the home side's arrears.

The Robins piled the pressure on Pompey throughout the second half, but squandered numerous chances; Peter Styvar narrowly failed to get a decisive touch on Jamie McCombe's flick on in the 48th minute, while Lee Johnson missed the target with a free header from close-range after Bradley Orr's raking pass.

City were not alone in this, though, as a glaring miss by Crouch at the other end left Tony Adams dumbfounded on the sideline and his side still under pressure.

An impeccably-timed challenge from Glen Johnson then denied Maynard with the striker poised to strike past James from close-range; the ball fell to Elliott, whose well-struck shot brought a smart stop from James.

City were hit on the break late on, a classy run by Nadir Belhadj to the right by-line committing Basso and Kranjcar side-footed home to give the visitors a cushion.

The drama did not end there, however, as Maynard was tripped by Sol Campbell and referee Jones pointed to the spot; Maynard stepped up with a swagger but James saved.

Portsmouth can now look ahead to a home tie against Swansea in the fourth round.

Dan Querrey / Eurosport

Comment 1 - 18 of 18

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  1. HAHAH, ROCK AND #~\#ING ROLL, I RECKON UR A­ STALKER, OR JUST A @#\#ING W.A.N.K.E.R, FANCY YOU­ COMING ONTO THE POMPEY SITE UR MORBID WEIRDO

    From peter657crew, on Thu 15 Jan 7:14AM

  2. SHUT IT CHUBBY....................

    From ROCK AND ROLL, on Wed 14 Jan 8:46PM

  3. pompey needed a haed game and city gave it to them ,­ well done city but well done pompey 2 games with clean­ sheets , and this is a great confidence boost they­ needed , next stop spurs and judas and his lap dog ,­ please judas do what you did at s @#$% won some games­ looked good then got them relegated for the first time­ in not sure 28 years???? sold alot of good players and­ brought in old players , now he is saying his team is­ not strong enough ,,, do that ring bells at saints or­ pompey ,,,,,, come on pompey

    From Chris, on Wed 14 Jan 2:30PM

  4. looks like pompey will hang on to the cup for another­ year.win or lose up the blues

    From louhayes, on Wed 14 Jan 12:32PM

  5. TYPICAL FA CUP GAME WERE THE MINNOWS TRIED THERE BEST,­ BUT WHEN POMPEY NEEDED TO THEY PLAYED SOME GREAT­ FOOTBALL TO WIN THE GAME.GOOD LUCK LADS FOR SUNDAY LETS­ DO SPURS I CANT STICK THAT LOT

    From furnstyleukltd, on Wed 14 Jan 11:54AM

  6. I like the beard Crouchy! lookin rough and rugged grrrr­ you lanky specimen of man!!! Bwahahaha.

    From Tom, on Wed 14 Jan 10:38AM

  7. Finally that annoying tallhub @#$% has chosen the­ correct article - you couldn't find a more­ desperate lanky @#$% than Peter Crouch.

    From Ashley B, on Wed 14 Jan 8:05AM

  8. 'City appealed vociferously following the goal with­ Crouch clearly handling the ball on the edge of the­ City box in the build-up, but the home side were left­ feeling aggrieved as their protestations were dismissed­ by referee Mike Jones.'
    Duh? It was a handball in­ the Pompey box, not City.

    From BOB, on Wed 14 Jan 6:34AM

  9. OK, there's a Cow Corner Appreciation Society now­ on Facebook
    The most important single factor in­ individual success is COMMITMENT. Commitment ignites­ action. Dating someone who really understands the word­ 'commitment' on
    will lead u to success!

    From intermillangogo, on Wed 14 Jan 6:09AM

  10. Well done lads, a nice safe run in please, none of the­ top 4 please- PLAY UP POMPEY!!!!

    From rrcarsofgosport, on Wed 14 Jan 1:54AM

  11. Such nice comments for once, cheers richie it was a­ good game, and bristol city can hold their heads up­ high, as a pompey supporter the tummy churned at times­ hahaha, and to taff your right ur good at rugby and­ singing but footballs a different matter, its good to­ have good banter

    From Yvonne, on Wed 14 Jan 12:02AM

  12. Another Welsh side is going to have a go at pompey in­ the next round. It would be great if Swansea could do­ it as I lived there for a few years and they have been­ doing well along with our neighbours Cardiff. We are­ used to hammering the English team ( and all the others­ ) in Rugby but this is a different assignment. Good­ game tonight I enjoyed it, attack being the way it was­ played, end to end.

    From taff, on Tue 13 Jan 11:50PM

  13. sorry about the spelling, i didn't realise my­ keyboard was being an arse.

    From Richie W, on Tue 13 Jan 11:42PM

  14. God game. city played well and had lots of chances but­ never had the clinical ege of a premeiership team. It­ wa a Shame on Nicky missed the pen or we'd ahve had­ a fantastic last few miutes. Good luck to our friends­ on the south coast, I think you'll need a bit more,­ nay alot more, to win the cup again though.

    From Richie W, on Tue 13 Jan 11:39PM

  15. good play

    From tomiisin, on Tue 13 Jan 11:36PM

  16. just got back from watching bthe game, excellent, such­ a good result, come on pompey do it again on sunday ­ please please please PLAY UP POMPEY ur the best, SIMPLY­ THE BEST ,MWAH

    From Yvonne, on Tue 13 Jan 11:32PM

  17. play up pompey!!! bring the cup back to fratton again

    From kevin.bowden1, on Tue 13 Jan 10:46PM

  18. Brilliant Pompey just what we needed a bit of a­ boost.Some great passing play lets built on it and­ realise the true potential of our team. Starting­ against Tottenham (who are not nice people).Well done­ Tony (he is a good guy,give him a chance)well done the­ team and very well done our superb supporters.­ Gerry.Belfast

    From Gerry, on Tue 13 Jan 10:44PM
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