The Road To Wembley

Portsmouth ended their long wait for a second FA Cup victory as they defeated Cardiff 1-0 in the final at Wembley on Saturday.

Both Premier League outfit Pompey and their Championship opponents, Cardiff, went into the 127th cup final hoping to follow up previous respective successes in 1939 and 1927.

And it was Pompey who etched their name in the record books for the second time as a solitary first half strike from Nwankwo Kanu proved too much for Cardiff.

The series of dramatic shocks and giant-killings in this term's competition has done much to restore the nostalgic magic of the FA Cup following the 13-year domination of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Pompey and the Bluebirds, though, served up an inevitably tense finale as Kanu's goal proved to be the conclusion to the tournament and booked a place in next season's Uefa Cup.

Ahead of kick-off there was heartbreak for veteran striker Robbie Fowler, who has been battling for fitness following hip surgery, as Cardiff manager Dave Jones opted to leave the 33-year-old out of his squad.

Pompey boss Harry Redknapp, who had never previously appeared in a cup final in over 40 years as a player and a manager, named David James in goal following his recovery from a calf problem.

And former Arsenal centre-back Sol Campbell - a two-time cup winner - started after a hamstring injury, while Kanu operated as a lone frontman in the absence of cup-tied forward Jermain Defoe.

The magnitude of a final appearance was more than evident in a scrappy opening but it was Cardiff who enjoyed the better of possession, despite failing to truly threaten James.

Heavy rain ahead of kick-off made intricate passing a difficult task, but it remained Cardiff who looked the most likely to break the deadlock as James saved well from Paul Parry and Peter Whittingham dragged a half-volley wide.

However, Portsmouth then began to find their feet as Sulley Muntari floated a free-kick into the danger area and as Cardiff shot-stopper Peter Enckelman flapped, Sylvain Distin and Kanu failed to convert.

And shortly after Kanu should again have done better as he jinked round a nervous looking Enckelman with trademark quick feet, only to somehow prod his effort against the upright.

Proceedings then returned to a fashion similar to the tight opening half-an-hour with only a tame Pedro Mendes volley, which was gathered by Enckelman, calling either goalkeeper into action.

However, on 37 minutes Portsmouth had their goal as Enckelman again fumbled a low John Utaka cross at the near post and Kanu banished the memory of his earlier miss as the Nigerian reacted the quickest to poke in a volley from close range.

Almost immediately, Cardiff had the opportunity to respond as Parry broke down the left, but his far post cross asked too much of Kevin McNaughton, who could only deflect wide.

With the first half personal address system announcement of one minute added time still echoing around a sold-out Wembley, Cardiff thought they had drawn level as Glenn Loovens hooked in at a corner after James had spilled, but referee Mike Dean correctly spotted that the Dutch defender had used a hand to control the ball.

Soon after the interval, Portsmouth could have doubled their advantage as Utaka raced onto an excellent Niko Kranjcar back heel to centre from the left, but Kanu saw his goal-bound effort deflected wide by Loovens.

Portsmouth began to dominate and Jones recognised his side were losing the battle as he introduced Aaron Ramsey in place of Whittingham in an attempt to threaten in midfield.

Highly-rated winger and semi-final goalscoring hero Joe Ledley appeared Cardiff's best outlet as the 21-year-old's pace visibly troubled Pompey, but James remained a spectator.

Redknapp then opted to shuffle his hand as he replaced Utaka with striker David Nugent and Pompey looked to kill the game off, while Cardiff responded by replacing the ineffective Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink with Steve Thompson.

Nugent almost justified his appearance with 20 minutes remaining as he latched onto a long ball from Muntari to warm the palms of Enckelman.

Papa Bouba Diop then earned a cup final appearance as he came on in place of Mendes as Pompy attempted to shut up shop, but soon after Cardiff had their best chance of the half as Loovens nodded just over the bar at a corner.

Loovens' header, though, was to be as close as Cardiff came as Pompey centre-back Distin surged forward from defence and came close to adding a second late on.