Premier League - Sunderland lose at Portsmouth

Eurosport - Tue, 19 May 09:59:00 2009

Sunderland face a nervy finale to the Premier League season after Portsmouth came from behind to beat the Black Cats 3-1 at Fratton Park.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Premier League Portsmouth-Sunderland Djibril Cisse - 0

Kenwyne Jones put Ricky Sbragia's relegation-threatened side into the lead on 59 minutes, only for John Utaka to level just 120 seconds later.

Pompey took the lead seven minutes later when Phil Bardsley slid the ball into his own net - under pressure from Utaka - following a terrible error of judgement by Anton Ferdinand.

Substitute Armand Traore then sealed all three points for Pompey in the 88th minute to set up a final-day showdown that could yet see Sunderland relegated.

Victory on the south coast would have secured Sunderland's top flight status for another year but instead the result means they will head into the final day a mere point ahead of Hull and two clear of Newcastle. Safety is far from assured, especially considering their opponents at the Stadium of Light - Chelsea.

Defeat at Aston Villa would relegate Newcastle although they would survive if they draw and Hull lose at home to champions Manchester United who are set to field a weakened side as they prepare for next week's Champions League final.

West Brom are definitely down while Middlesbrough, who have 32 points, need to beat West Ham United comfortably and hope that Hull and Newcastle both lose.

Given the stakes at Fratton Park, the opening period understandably proved to be a tight affair, although both sides did manage to create chances that left the woodwork reverberating at each end.

Peter Crouch lead the way for Pompey, the England striker heading Glen Johnson's cross goalwards after just four minutes of play, only to see his effort bounce back off the upright and scrambled away to safety.

And just before half-time, Crouch's opposite number Jones jumped in between Sylvain Distin and Sol Campbell to direct a header against the post; the ball bounced back across the face of goal but, crucially, not over the line.

Pompey boss Paul Hart made a double substitution at the break, bringing on Traore and Younes Kaboul for Richard Hughes and Kanu, and the changes immediately brought dividends.

Pompey burst out of the blocks, laying siege to the Sunderland goal as the visitors struggled to get out of their own half.

So it came as a surprise when Callum Davenport broke to the other end on 59 minutes to deliver an inch-perfect cross for Jones to stab home at the far post, completely against the run of play.

Pompey were not to be deterred and it took them a mere minute-and-a-half to draw level, Utaka taking full advantage of a fortuitous rebound off Teemu Tainio to charge towards goal and finish low past Marton Fulop.

Utake whipped off his shirt and celebrated - for which he was booked - unaware that referee Mike Riley had blown his whistle moments before the Nigerian pulled the trigger. Exactly for what remained a mystery, but the goal stood.

Pompey went ahead on 68 minutes when Ferdinand misjudged a long punt downfield, allowing the ball slip under his foot and Utaka to race in on goal and round Fulop. Bardsley's attempted saving tackle merely succeeded in diverting the ball into his own net.

Credit to Sunderland - they came back looking for an equaliser. And they could have found one had stand-in keeper Asmir Begovic - making his debut in the absence of injured David James - not been alert to several situations, most notably to save from Grant Leadbitter, Djibril Cisse and Jones, twice.

But Pompey held firm and Traore make sure of the hosts' victory with a neat finish with just two minutes remaining, Utaka taking on, and beating, Ferdinand before laying off for the youngster to rifle into the far corner.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

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  1. huh

    From fluffy.bits, on Wed 20 May 10:29PM

  2. And i bet you cheered and sang that merchant­ banker's name every time he scored for England too­ - go get a life you armchair, glory-hunting douchbag!

    From cameron w, on Wed 20 May 6:40PM

  3. Ladies and gentleman, the epitome of the 21st Century­ Glory Hunter -
    I give you:
    . . . . . . . . .
    nevt61
    .­ . . . . . . .
    Disappear please, the game doesn't­ need your sort.

    From cameron w, on Wed 20 May 6:38PM

  4. johnkyle96 thanks

    From painkiller14, on Wed 20 May 6:27PM

  5. pts 108 and 110.newcastle arn't liked now because­ shearer's a merchant banker,and i for 1 would love­ to see you go down because of him.i'm also sick to­ the back teeth hearing about the gunners up and coming­ side,this has been said for 3 or 4 years now and their­ still no further forward,although i must admit they do­ play attractive football at times.But football is about­ winners 1st 2nd and 3rd and silverware is all that­ counts at the end of the day.

    From nevt61, on Wed 20 May 6:25PM

  6. Thank you for that Cameron.. you are right,and­ understandably a bit touchy over certain­ comments,especially those referring to our british­ women, like one I.ve read here tonight, and from a­ fellow londoner.. Cameron I'm sure you would like­ to be in the boots of us Arsenal fans[SO TO SPEAK] .­ but even with the up and coming team we have got, and­ one of our best ever managers, several so called­ Arsenal fans are calling for the managers head, that is­ what needlesme, I think the cups and trophys are o.k..­ but surely its the great football week in &^ out­ that counts.. , wish you well mate, and good luck this­ weekend.

    From arsnic, on Tue 19 May 9:42PM

  7. Kathryn L You missed Charlie Hurley from your list, and­ what about Shack & Cloughy. I just hope that­ Newcastle & Hull loose, I don't think we have a­ snowball in Hells chance of getting anything out of­ Chelsea. With you all the way painkiller14 GET RID OF­ SBRAGIA, his team selections amaze me.

    From johnkyle96, on Tue 19 May 9:29PM

  8. arsnic
    i am a regular my friend and thank you; you have­ restored my faith in the 21st Century football­ fan!
    Forgive my touchiness, but us Geordies have had it­ from all quarters this season!
    Never known so much­ hatred towards a football club or it's fans, well­ apart from man united!
    It really does sadden me; i­ accept it from a mackem, that's understandable, but­ we are getting it from EVERYWHERE. I blame the tabloids­ myself; i have said it for a couple of years now that­ they have an 'agenda' against NUFC.
    For what­ it's worth, i fear for my club but i suppose­ footballing-wise, we do deserve to go as we have been­ dreadful this season. And as for the way the club has­ been run, well how long we got!!!!!!
    Anyway, nice one­ pal and i'll keep my eyes out for you.
    ps
    even­ though i mock safc fans, i'm actually a Geordie who­ wants sunderland to survive -

    From cameron w, on Tue 19 May 9:17PM

  9. hI cammeron..I may be an Arsenal Fan, but if you are­ regular on these sport sites you would have probably­ seen my posts, and all my post regarding Newcastle have­ been favourable, because , I am also a fan of the toon,­ I have said and I mean it, the premier will not be the­ same without you, and as also my mate is one of your­ biggest fans, and a lot bigger than me, i'd be­ silly to say otherwise.. I will be rooting for you this­ weekend.. and yorkshire is still north east of­ England..

    From arsnic, on Tue 19 May 7:54PM

  10. arsnic,
    Hello mate:
    yes i know what the maps and the­ geographers say!
    But in footballing terms, 'the­ boro' is a small town in North Yorkshire!!!
    You­ know us football fans, we don't allow a bit of­ truth to get in the way of good old-fashioned­ banter!!!!
    Just look at all the filth that has been fed­ to people with regards my club (The Toon), from the­ tabloid press - yet they all seem to believe it,­ especially on these pages (with the exception of the­ ones with a brain, 4 of them).

    From cameron w, on Tue 19 May 7:20PM

  11. This has been terrible for pompey, lucky to stay in the­ league the way their playing. AT FRATTON PARK aswell­ sunderland lucky ducks!

    From Nath, on Tue 19 May 7:20PM

  12. -+Comment 106..Caameron.. thanks for your Comment old­ mate, actually I'm from London..

    but we Know­ yorkshire is yorkshire,, but yorkshire is in the­ NORTHEAST OF ENGLAND.
    same as LANCASHIRE IS IN THE­ NORTH WEST OF ENGLAND
    WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS. ONE IS­ THE COUNTY NAME THE OTHER IS THE COMPASS POINT
    and its­ been like that all of my 83 years..

    From arsnic, on Tue 19 May 6:37PM

  13. arsnic
    sorry pal, you're NOT from the North East .­ . . .you said it yourself, you're from­ Yorkshire!!!!!!!

    From cameron w, on Tue 19 May 6:25PM

  14. boro 2 escape come on you smoggies from a smoggie

    From smiley123, on Tue 19 May 6:25PM

  15. what a bloody surprise sbragia dint follow my advice to­ play cisse and waited til 80th minute to put him on.­ shot ourselves in the foot

    From jay or jam jam, on Tue 19 May 5:34PM

  16. come back PETER REID SUNDERLAND needs YOU

    From powermouse, on Tue 19 May 2:51PM

  17. RE COMMENT 93,, Michael b.. I am sitting in yorkshire­ writing this, and that is in the NORTH EAST OF­ ENGLAND..think you owe someone an apology..in actual­ fact, its the current league champions and Liverpool­ who are in the North West.. of course I'm a dumb­ Arsenal Fan..

    From arsnic, on Tue 19 May 2:01PM

  18. TOP FLIGHT FOOTBALL EVERY TIME THE WEAR SIDERDS GET­ THERE ITS THE SAME OLD SONG STILL SINGING OFF THE SAME­ HYMN SHEET THEY ARE NOT A TOP FLIGHT CLUB ANYMORE IVE­ BEEN THERE ALL MY LIFE ITS TIME FOR A REAL CLEAR OUT­ TELL YOU WHAT IVE GOT A TEAM FOR NEXT YEAR MR QUINN­ HERE IT IS
    JIMMY MONTGOMERY
    @#$% MALONE
    RON­ GUTHRIE
    DAVE WATSON
    RITCHIE PITT
    BOBBY KERR
    IAN­ PORTERFIELD
    BILLY HUGHES
    THE LIST IS ENDLESS THEY­ PLAYED WITH PASSION THAT WAS THE LAST TIME WE PLAYED­ FOOTBALL.

    From Kathryn L, on Tue 19 May 12:23PM

  19. cameron if we do survive the first thing we must do is­ get rid of ricky but don't know who'd want the­ job wouldn't be surprised if ellis short does not­ take up his option of more shares then we are going to­ be left with the same squad for next yr as no money to­ buy so we can look forward to watching dross again even­ when we were in the old div 3 at least we had players­ ready to battle for the cause this lot don't care­ one bit they just take their money every week and­ couldn't care less about us

    From heslop448, on Tue 19 May 12:09PM

  20. Of all the teams threatened with relegation I fancy the­ Smoggies to escape, they can win at West Ham, and I­ fear Villa & Man U$a will romp home over the­ striped sides to send them both down.

    From hugochavezftw, on Tue 19 May 11:43AM
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