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. I hope you Mackems stay up.The NorthEast may be poor­ money wise but your richer in your minds and your­ passion for football.RESPECT from a Spurs fan who knows­ a Mackem

    From Rick Moth, on Tue 19 May 10:37AM

  2. heslop448
    Sorry pal, but this was on the cards;­ let's face it safc are as poor as NUFC - but at­ least we know it.
    You will defo lose to Chelsea in­ Guus' last game - so really, you are relying on­ hull and the Toon to slip up.
    Let's hope man united­ do the business and Villa don't turn up, so we can­ continue the best derby in England by a mile.
    ps
    Martin­ Jol's your man, IF you survive!

    From cameron w, on Tue 19 May 10:31AM

  3. Dear Anthony b, To most people all you lot from the­ North East sound alike (ie, incomprehensible) whether­ you're from Newcastle, Middlesbro, or Sunderland.­ We in London (Non Asians at least) speak the Queens­ English! And you definately have the ugliest women in­ the entire country, although the title of worst in­ Europe may well be Belguim or Portugal as another­ person reminded us all. Howay? the Lads!

    From Mario L, on Tue 19 May 10:20AM

  4. I just don't understand sunderland manager Sbragia­ this year.Why is always playing that ugly m@@@@@@@@@r­ Cisse?Sunderland has David Healy_great striker and a­ lot better than Cisse I think.also they had Rade­ Prica_he is also good striker and he wasn't even­ given a chance to show what he can do and now he is­ scoring till in every match with rosenborg.Daryl murphy­ is a great talent,but he is not given a much chance to­ play.Roy keane depended on people like chopra,who has­ much less salary than Cisse or maybe Jones,but Roy­ keane's Sunderland was better than­ sbragia's.Also I forgot Anthony Stokes,David­ Connoly and etc.they weren't given a chance to­ prove themselves

    From painkiller14, on Tue 19 May 10:03AM

  5. darling simon ( comment 79 )- after you finish spanking­ your monkey and playing with your Beckham dolls - you­ really need to take a geography lesson honey , I­ don't want to be the first to tell you this but­ here goes - Hull is not in the North East, last time I­ watched the BBCweather forecast they had it stamped­ somewhere in Yorkshire....your comment is akin to­ saying London is in the South West ( which it patently­ isn't ) - If you have difficulty comprehending any­ of the above information, just tell me and I will­ rewrite it in chav thick as a brick football fan talk­ for you

    From michael b, on Tue 19 May 9:56AM

  6. Niall sort it out, fans loyalty only goes so far, I­ wont buy my kids any of the new kit or tickets until­ you replace that joker with a proper manager. We have­ players who believe their own press and the Cameron­ 'Hoog a Hoodie' style that Ricky has doesnt­ work - footballers are overpaid and need to realise­ they are not bigger than the club. Before I forget­ Mario L, if you dont realise that their is 1 Geordie­ team and Sunderland are Mackems then why dont you post­ on whichever tin pot country you live ins football­ forums with the rest of the plastic supporters

    From anthony b, on Tue 19 May 9:49AM

  7. Dear Mario L, the North East may have the ugliest women­ in UK but have you ever been to Belguim or Portugal?

    From autosportgib, on Tue 19 May 9:35AM

  8. having been a SUNDERLAND fan all my life,SUNDERLAND­ born & bred. this team is not premiership quality,­ nor is NEWCASCASTLE or THE BORO. it is about time the­ NORTHEAST reaalised it has no teams worthy of­ premiership status. the fans pay out fortunes of hard­ earned cash week after weak to watch highly paid so­ called players who are not pulling there wait for the­ clubs that pay there wages.get rid of all the top wage­ earners and use some young local talent from the­ academys who want to play for there local team and play­ with passion, and be proud to do so.

    From powermouse, on Tue 19 May 9:32AM
  9. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    What a brilliant season. Fulham in Europe, and at two­ geordie teams relegated! Not only does the north east­ have the worst beer, and the ugliest women in the UK,­ you now have the worst football teams. Away the lads?

    From Mario L, on Tue 19 May 9:25AM
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  11. I really worry about Hull, I think they are an honest­ team, and although Brown has made some daft decisions­ this season, I think he has put in a good shift overall­ this season.

    I hear alot of people saying that Man­ Utd will field a weakened side against them. If you­ consider for one minute that the team will consist of­ alot of the Man Utd (youth) team that took on Everton­ in the FA Cup Semi, there is one hell of a lot of­ talent there, and lets face it they will all want to­ put on their best show in order to have an outside­ chance of benching in the Champions League final. I­ really cant believe that none of the­ "pundits" have picked up on this? Everyone­ knows that Sir Alex has a habit of making some big­ decisions, which might include some youth being on the­ bench!

    So all being said, my honest belief is that­ Hull have the hardest job.

    Middlesborough for my­ money are down, Chelsea will play their strongest team,­ and all the players will want to put in a good­ performance, in order that they can either attract­ Hiddink, or a new suitor for next season.

    We are left­ with Newcastle then, personally I wouldn't like to­ see them go down, we have seen that smaller clubs can­ rebuild after relegation, but I fear that Newcastle­ will be a Leeds version 2. Their safety for me is in­ their own hands.

    My predictions are that West Brom,­ Middlesborough and Hull will be the teams relegated,­ with Newcastle scraping through and Sunderland keeping­ their noses just above water.

    From Graham, on Tue 19 May 9:18AM

  12. well 700 miles of driving to watch a team that never­ had any desire to win a draw was never going to be­ enough so why did we play to get one even when we­ scored we never looked like getting anything and now we­ are going to have to take our medicine against chelsea­ and hope either villa or man utd youth team do us a­ favour to be honest we deserve to go down maybe this­ year 5 teams should go down as none of us really have­ showed enough to prove we are up to the premiership­ well off to work now hope i don't fall asleep on­ the job like our defence did last night

    From heslop448, on Tue 19 May 8:53AM

  13. At the moment I am quite embarrassed to come from the­ North East, simply due to the pathetic sniping going on­ here. It is irrelevant who I support the simple fact­ is I want to support none when the 'fans' of­ all behave in this manner. At least one of the North­ East teams is going down and at least one will stay up­ - good luck to them all. I will at least be happy to­ support my team without the sniping, whinging and­ pathetic jibes when all these that come out in force to­ whine and moan have crawled back under their rocks.

    From emma, on Tue 19 May 8:46AM

  14. It may be a good thing if the toon go down? At least­ they will then have the total clearout they need and­ can start the task of assembling a team worthy of the­ support they get week in week out

    From Phil, on Tue 19 May 8:26AM

  15. sunderland will probs stay up,they deserve to be­ relegated so do newcastle,both are totaly­ rubbish.sunderland need to rid that so called manager­ hes a reet tool

    From robbieisfineshedyahoooo, on Tue 19 May 7:24AM
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Teams going down - no sentiments are West Brom, Boro­ and Newcastle. Hull would defeat Man U

    From OLUSEYI BADMOS, on Tue 19 May 6:54AM
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  18. how funny is this... if middlesboro win comfortabley­ and newcastle and hull lose boro stay up, if boro n­ hull lose n newcastle draw or win newcastle stay up and­ if newcatle and hull win and sunDerland lose then­ sunderland go down... what is guarenteed is that 4 of­ the bottom 5 are north east clubs... SIMPLY NOT A GOOD­ AREA FOR FOOTBALL!!!!!
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    From simonw1977, on Tue 19 May 5:26AM

  19. Whichever league we find ourselves in next term, two­ things are painfully obvious: this team is nowhere near­ good enough, considering the amount of money that was­ spent building it, and RS is not, and never will be, ­ management material, despite his coaching abilities.­ Hopefully Ellis Short will soon take over the reigns­ from Drumaville, and will bring in his long hoped for­ new coach - along with some quality players.

    From Paperboy, on Tue 19 May 4:51AM

  20. hull and boro.......err ...... enough said

    From ben, on Tue 19 May 3:59AM
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