Portsmouth v Southampton

A special page to celebrate the memorable results over our local, and less worthy, rivals

Southampton 1 - 4 Portsmouth

St Marys - 13.Feb.2010

A Portsmouth match report

Pompey stormed into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with victory over bitter rivals Southampton at St Mary’s.

The Blues were actually second best in the first half but the introduction of Quincy Owusu-Abeyie after the break turned the game. The winger gave Pompey the lead with a neat finish, then – after Southampton had levelled through Rickie Lambert – set up Aruna Dindane to restore their lead.

With the hosts committing men further up the pitch, the Blues took advantage with goals from Nadir Belhadj and the impressive Jamie O’Hara giving the scoreline a gloss.

Avram Grant made four changes from the side that drew with Sunderland on Tuesday night. Belhadj came in for the suspended Ricardo Rocha at left-back, while Hermann Hreidarsson returned from an Achilles injury to replace Tal Ben Haim in the centre of defence. There were also starts for Hayden Mullins and John Utaka in place of Steve Finnan and Frederic Piquionne.

Southampton enjoyed plenty of the possession early on without putting David James' goal under much pressure.

Morgan Schneiderlin tried his luck from 20-yards but the midfielder’s effort flew high over the crossbar.

The hosts finally tested James on 10 minutes – but Pompey’s keeper was ready for it, diving low to his left to deny Papa Waigo N’Diaye from point-blank range. Then, after a Pompey attack had broken down, Dan Harding broke clear down the left and lashed a shot into the side netting.

The Blues were struggling to settle but went close to breaking the deadlock on 23 minutes. Only a fine fingertip save from Kelvin Davis kept out O’Hara’s audacious strike from distance.

O’Hara then scuffed a shot wide after a neat lay-off by Papa Bouba Diop, but as the half progressed chances were proving to be few and far between.

James breathed a sigh of relief on 34 minutes, however. The keeper let Lambert’s corner slip through his hands but Radhi Jaidi failed to guide his header on target.

At the other end, Davis had to race off his line to stop Dindane from connecting with Hassan Yebda’s ball into the box. But it was the hosts who were looking more likely to score and James was forced to make another fine save to keep out Wayne Thomas’ header just before the interval.

Half Time: Southampton 0 Pompey 0

James had kept Pompey in the game before the break and he was called into action again early in the second half. The ball looked goalbound when Adam Lallana met Michail Antonio’s cross but James somehow got down to palm his header away.

Pompey did have a chance of their own courtesy of a quick break on 48 minutes, but Dindane shot wide after cutting inside.

And a quick counter-attack saw Utaka bear down on goal soon after. The angle was against the Nigerian, though, and his effort was comfortably saved by Davis.

Grant made his first change on 58 minutes – and it was an attacking one with Owusu-Abeyie replacing Angelos Basinas and within minutes the on-loan winger’s trickery had drawn a foul from Dean Hammond in a dangerous position on the left. O’Hara whipped the free-kick into the box but Utaka got the ball stuck under his feet and was unable to get a shot away.

Pompey were ahead on 66 minutes, however, courtesy of a fine finish from OWUSU-ABEYIE. He received the ball from Utaka and curled it round Davis and into the bottom corner.

But the hosts were level just four minutes later when the Blues failed to clear a corner, allowing Lambert to head home. The game was proving to be very open now and Pompey took advantage of that to restore their advantage on 75 minutes.

The Blues broke quickly with Owusu-Abeyie bursting clear down the pitch. His through ball was latched onto by DINDANE, whose low shot hit Davis and looped into the net.

Southampton thought they had levelled again five minutes later when Lallana prodded home from close range. The home fans cheered but it was the Pompey fans who were celebrating when they spotted the linesman’s raised flag.

And things soon got better for the visitors when they extended their advantage on 82 minutes.

With Southampton pushing men forward they were always going to leave spaces at the back and BELHADJ exploited that, running half the length of the pitch before sliding the ball confidently into the net.

Belhadj turned provider soon after. The Algerian was given plenty of time and space to send in a cross that was laid off by Owusu-Abeyie for O’HARA to lash home.

Pompey fans were finally able to relax and celebrate victory and it was fitting that Richard Hughes – who played in the last south coast derby when the Blues also triumphed 4-1 – came on as a late substitute.

Pompey: James (c); Mullins, Wilson, Hreidarsson (Hughes 90), Belhadj; Diop, Basinas (Owusu-Abeyie 58), O’Hara, Yebda; Dindane, Utaka (Piquionne 72)

Goals: Owusu-Abeyie 66, Dindane 75, Belhadj 82, O’Hara 85

Booked: Dindane, Yebda

Subs not used: Ashdown, Tosic, Webber, Kanu

Southampton: Davis; Thomas, Jaidi, Perry (Holmes 84), Harding; Antonio, Hammond (c), Schneiderlin, Lallana; N’Diaye (Barnard 72), Lambert

Goals: Lambert 70

Booked: Hammond

Subs not used: Bialkowski, Mills, James, Wotton, Gillett

Referee: Howard Webb

Attendance: 31,385

Portsmouth 4 - 1 Southampton

Fratton Park - 24.April.2005

The pressure starts to tell

A Portsmouth match report

ABSOLUTELY magnificent. Pompey steamrollered pitiful Saints inside half an hour and then cruised to a victory which goes a huge way to securing our Premiership status, while knocking several hard and heavy nails into Harry Redknapp's metaphorical coffin. Sweet.

Alain Perrin changed his side around, with Patrik Berger coming into the left side of midfield, in place of Skopelitis, while Cissé dropped to the bench as Griffin was restored at right back. Yakubu replaced Kamara up front.

However the big team news was in the opposite camp as former Fratton favourite Peter Crouch apparently tweaked a hamstring in the warm up and Henri Camara came into the side. Last season an almighty hailstorm out of the blue served as an omen of good things to come. Could the loss of saints leading scorer be a similar portent?

You bet! Pompey were out of the traps early and immediately Yakubu and Lualua were finding agreeably generous amounts of space in front of the Saints back four. After three minutes Saints uncertainly at the back was punished as a dinked ball over the top saw Lualua onto it like a flash and Niemi could only haul him down for a penalty. Referee Dunn let him get away without even a talking too, which seemed generous, unlike YAKUBU'S clinical finish into the top corner. (1-0)

Saints were already in disarray and Pompey were first to every ball and Quashie and Redknapp Jnr couldn't get into their passing stride. On the other hand Pompey threatened goals every time they swarmed forward backed by an exultant crowd.

Lualua went closest almost finding the top corner, only to be denied by a magnificent tip over by Niemi.

The only surprise is it took until the 17th minute for the second goal to come when Stone won a free kick on the right and, as the police were busy detaining a struggling Saints fan whose disappointment had got the better of him, Berger swept in a perfect cross for DE ZEEUW to meet with an emphatic, thumping downward header. (2-0)

Absolute pandemonium in the stadium, but the party had only just begun, although CAMARA proved bit of a gatecrasher after 22 minutes as he seized on Taylor and Stefanovic's lack of communication to zip past De Zeeuw and fire across Ashdown just inside the far post from the corner of the penalty area (2-1).

For about a minute and a half Saints looked the composed passing team that had played Villa off the park in the first half last week, then their defensive wheels fell off again. Another straightforward ball down the middle again left centre backs and Niemi in no-mans-land and Lualua nicked the ball away from the keeper, despite his attempted handball five yards out of his area, and LUALUA hooked the loose ball into the empty net from 20 yards. (3-1)

Lualua's impressive celebratory back flip had a price to pay as he seemed to be struggling with an injury, looking rather tentative as he came back on after treatment, but in the 27th minute another sloppy bit of defending on the edge of the area saw the ball drop to him and his instant shot fizzed into the bottom corner of Niemi's net. (4-1)

Pompey fans were in dreamland. For Saints there was nowhere to hide, Harry's sorry mercenary band had hardly put up a fight. They were a disgrace to the red and white shirt. How we enjoyed their misery.

With Richard Hughes and Gary O'Neil in total control of midfield, and Saints back-pedalling every time Yakubu, or now Kamara, Lualua's replacement, got the ball, the action continued to steam towards the end packed with fans wearing what could pass for butchers' aprons. Certainly it was lambs to the slaughter.

Berger whipped in another free kick which Niemi tipped over after Stone was tripped perilously close to a penalty after nutmegging Quashie quite delightfully, then the Czech sent another shot skimming just past the far post from 20 yards. Kamara fired over after a jinking run into the box, while Ashdown's only serious employment was to clutch a fiercely struck Camara drive.

4-1? The score line truly flattered Saints. Six or seven would have easily done justice to the finest 45 minutes of football it has been my pleasure to see Pompey produce in 35 years traipsing to Fratton Park, usually like today in hope, rather than anticipation.

HALF TIME: Pompey 4 Saints 1

But we're a pessimistic breed, Pompey fans. Surely Saints couldn't be as awful again? OK, so we've never conceded more than three goals in a Premiership game, but Camara had shown that there were goals against, as well as for in this encounter. As it happened, we needn't have fretted.

The second half started for Saints with a rush. Delap's headlong rush into Berger's clearance which caught him full in the meat and two veg department. If he thought the day couldn't get much worse, it had now...

Gone was the high-tempo urgency which had blown Saints aside in the first half and Pompey were content to keep the ball and, to be honest, Saints didn't seem that inclined to try and get it off them.

From a chance-a-minute, it was now a cagey game. Pompey lost Berger as a fell awkwardly in a challenge and Cissé came on to sit just in front of the back four to preserve the hard-won advantage.

Even when Saints got the ball, their passing was woeful. Quashie, unhappily for him, delightfully for us, was the worse offender, frequently finding either touch or a blue shirt with monotonous regularity. To be fair to the man who joined Saints in January, he was the one in their team who didn't hide and he forced Ashdown into his only extending save when he pushed round a 25 yard shot.

For the last 20 minutes, Pompey resumed their arrogant control of the game, passing through a thoroughly dispirited visiting team who had patently given up. Kamara jinked his way through twice and then scorned great chances by firing too high, then Griffin's tenacity on the right earned him the chance of a low cross shot which Niemi did well to block.

'La la laaa la la-la laaa' sung the Fratton faithful in perfect unison, wallowing in the mute Saints' fans discomfort. But we're not sending them down. On this display they are more than capable of doing it themselves.

Referee Dunn played just 60 seconds of stoppage time (my watch indicated around four were needed) and Saints were finally, like an injured animal, put out of their misery. Their fans, inflatable skates having made a useful screen to avoid having to watch the action, vented their spleen on their team. Quite right too. The Saints' team effort was a disgrace to the red and white. I have seen Pompey outclassed at The Dell and St Mary's, but I've never seen them throw in the towel.

But pleasurable though this moment is, more important is what it says about Pompey and their future. In November Milan Mandaric gambled, big time, in effectively forcing Harry out. His man-management skills may have been questionable, but he has comprehensively won his bet and deserves the plaudits he got at the end.

And compared to his chancer counterpart Rupert Lowe, and his mercenary management team, I know which I'd prefer to have in charge of my club. After today, Saints fans may well just agree.

POMPEY TEAM: 4-4-2 Ashdown, Griffin, Stefanovic, De Zeeuw, Taylor, Stone, Hughes, O'Neil, Berger (Cissé), Yakubu (Skopelitis), LuaLua (Kamara).
Subs Not Used: Hislop, Fuller.
 

ATTENDANCE: 20,205
 

REFEREE: S Dunn
 

MAN OF THE MATCH: Lualua - What contribution!
 

VERDICT: There is a football God. The national press by and large, may not have cottoned on, but Portsmouth Football Club - and in particular its players - delivered their verdict to Harry. This was a win for the fans. They knew Harry, despite his undeniable legacy at Fratton, had crossed an undrawn boundary in taking Lowe's shilling so soon after his tearful farewell from Fratton. Today was payback time, with interest. All I can say to the players and management team is 'Thank you.' There' are still two teams in Hampshire, but today one is considerably better than the other one...

And to keep things un-biased a perspective from the SaintsForever website

There is absolutely no point to me doing a match report after that total humiliation.

Today I watched the club I love... die in front of my own eyes.

Today I watched a bunch of gutless, characterless, lightweight, unfit, uncommitted wankers roll over and give up.

Today I find myself knowing that I will always support the Saints, but I can't support players who just don't give a shit.

Today I am resigned to the fact that Saints will be relegated and I can have no complaints about us deserving it.

Today it feels like my heart was ripped out and spat on by players who will all be pissing off in the summer or seeing out their overpaid contracts.

Today I know all the bollocks said by players about showing spirit is simply telling us what we want to hear. They don't listen to us fans, they don't care about us fans. They'll be tucked up in their mansions tonight, closed away from the outside world whilst Saints fans have to put up the taunts and piss taking at work for weeks to come.

Today I know we have great supporters, who get let down time and time again by the players.

Today I know this club has been heading in the wrong direction since Lowe and the board mucked up the managerial appointment twice in the space of a few months.

Today I feel sick, angry, humiliated and deeply ashamed of my team. I will never be ashamed to be a Southampton supporter.

SHAME ON YOU PLAYERS AND MANAGEMENT. IF YOU HAVE NO BELLY FOR A FIGHT, FUCK OFF NOW AND I'D RATHER SEE US GO DOWN PLAYING THE LIKES OF THE U18'S AND DODDSY THAN THE LIKES OF CLAUS, TELFER, JAKOBSSON, REDKNAPP, BERNARD, DELAP WHO JUST PLAY CRAP WEEK AFTER WEEK AND STILL GET PICKED. I HONESTLY THOUGHT HARRY WOULD BE GOOD FOR US, BUT HE CAN'T MOTIVATE THIS LOT EITHER AND CONTINUES TO PLAY THE SAME RUBBISH.

This is the saddest day I can remember in the history of Southampton FC

The Subsequent Relegation

A celebration in pictures