Season Review 07/08: March

Last updated : 06 July 2008 By Jim Bonner
March 2008 was the most important month of Pompey's season as although the possibility of finishing fifth in the league had diminished, the club took a huge leap to FA Cup glory.

At the start of the month Pompey travelled to Goodison Park for a key clash in the battle for a UEFA Cup place.

02/03/08: Premier League Matchday #28: Everton 3 Pompey 1

Things go off to the worst possible start as straight from our kick-off Lasanna Diarra gave away a free kick, Stephen Pienaar whipped the ball in and it broke for Yakubu to give the Toffees the lead in the first minute.

Despite being second best, Pompey drew level as Everton failed to defend Glen Johnson's set-piece and Jermain Defoe scored with the lightest of touches to restore parity before half-time.

Harry Redknapp's men were the better side in the second half until Andy Johnson came on to turn the game back in favour of the home side and they took the lead again when Tim Cahill rose to head in Pienaar's cross.

Yakubu then finished the game off after Sol Campbell failed to deal with a long ball and the former Pompey striker powered in a third to give David Moyes the last laugh in this crunch encounter.

With all hopes of UEFA Cup qualification via the league gone, Pompey fans weren't too optimistic about how the season was going to end as most were certain that we would bow out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford once again.

But the FA Cup had already seen its shocks this season and we were about to witness one of the biggest surprises that Pompey have ever been part of.

08/03/08: FA Cup Quarter-Final: Manchester United 0 Pompey 1

If you want to win at Old Trafford then you have to have a bit of luck and you have to defend for your lives. It looked like Pompey would get that slice of luck when Sylvain Distin barged Cristiano Ronaldo in the box and got away with it when 99 times out of 100 United would get a penalty for that.

Then came the defensive heroics as Sol Campbell raced back following a quick United counter-attack to halt Wayne Rooney's shot, the ball broke to Carlos Tevez whose shot was cleared off the line by Glen Johnson.

Pompey got through the first half unscathed but with just a Niko Kranjcar long shot to show for it. However United were forced to substitute Edwin van der Sar for Tomasz Kuszczak.

The second half contained more drama and tension as Sylvain Distin somehow managed to clear Michael Carrick's effort off the line and the David James tipped Patrice Evra's shot onto the post. Ronaldo also missed a couple of good chances whilst Campbell's last ditch challenge prevented a certain goal.

Somehow we had weathered the storm and then David James' quick punt upfield allowed Niko Kranjcar to play a square ball to Milan Baros. Kuszczak brought him down in the box and was sent off; Rio Ferdinand took his place but could not prevent Sulley Muntari for burying the penalty and sending the travelling Pompey fans mental!

Alex Ferguson's men pushed for an equaliser but after what seemed like forever the referee blew his whilstle to confirm Pompey's place in the semi-final as well as incurring the wrath of the United manager. The Pompey fans didn't care though as we were going to Wembley!

After the game many people thought it would be Pompey writing the FA Cup headlines but an even bigger shock came later in the day as Barnsley knocked out Chelsea.

The following day Cardiff defeated Middlesbrough which meant that Portsmouth were the only top flight side left in the competition and therefore favourites to win the FA Cup! West Bromwich Albion would be the opponents for the semi-final.

The result at Old Trafford and Jamo extending his contract to 2010 caused a buzz around the club which was evident for the visit of Birmingham to Fratton Park during midweek.

12/03/08: Premier League Matchday #29: Pompey 4 Birmingham City 2

The FA Cup semi-finalists raced into an early two goal lead thanks to Jermain Defoe. David Murphy handled Milan Baros' cross in the box and Defoe put away the resulting penalty, and then added another from close range just minutes after.

Just as the home fans got complacent, Alex McCleish's men hit straight back as they got a corner straight from kick-off and Fabrice Muamba scored from it. Birmingham equalised minutes before half-time as Sebastien Larsson curled in a free kick.

Pompey started the second half stronger and Birmingham's failure to defend Niko Kranjcar's free kick allowed Hermann Hreidarsson to smash us back into the lead. The visitors searched for an equaliser but were caught on the break in stoppage time as Kanu sealed victory with a header.

The ticket details were released for the Wembley semi-final soon after and that caused a lot of commotion. In the meantime Pompey had to deal with the other team from Birmingham.

15/03/08: Premier League Matchday #30: Pompey 2 Aston Villa 0

The home fans mocked Scott Carson for his England blunder and he had a bit of a shocker as his two mistakes meant Pompey overtook Villa in the table.

Jermain Defoe caught Carson off his line and chipped him to score the opener and then the Villa 'keeper raced miles off his line to try and clear the ball but his clearance ended up hitting Nigel Reo-Coker and the ball ran into his own net to compound his misery.

Gabriel Agbonlahor couldn't tap in a simple chance to pull one back for Martin O'Neill's men but they couldn't create much else as Pompey saw out the game comfortably. Both sides finished the game with ten men after Sulley Muntari and Olof Mellberg were sent off for receiving two yellow cards.

Pompey were hoping to follow up that win with victory at White Hart Lane but would be without Jermain Defoe as a stupid rule regarding his initial loan status at Portsmouth meaning he couldn't play against his "parent" club.

22/03/08: Premier League Matchday #31: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Pompey 0

A weakened Pompey team managed to see off the Spurs threat in the first half as Michael Dawson came closest when his shot hit the crossbar. We should have taken the lead when Sean Davis almost lobbed Paul Robinson or when Kanu's weak header was cleared off the line by Didier Zokora.

Pompey crumbled in the last ten minutes of the second half after defending well as Dimitar Berbatov's mistimed shot broke kindly to Darren Bent who slotted in. Straight after that the defence were caught out and Bent squared for Jamie O'Hara to finish us off.

The final game before the big Wembley semi-final would be the visit of Steve Bruce's Wigan to Fratton Park.

29/03/08: Premier League Matchday #32: Pompey 2 Wigan Athletic 0

The scoreline of this game really didn't tell the story as Luis Antonio Valencia had his shot cleared onto the crossbar by Glen Johnson. The visitors started well but couldn't do anything to stop John Utaka running into the box and assisting Jermain Defoe to score once again.

Plucky Wigan were gifted a chance to get back into the game after Valencia tripped up in the box but David James was equal to Ryan Taylor's spot kick who then blasted the rebound over the bar.

Jamo then produced a great save to deny Antoine Sibierski just when it looked like Wigan would get something but in the final minute they were hit by the sucker punch as Defoe finished off a counter-attack to seal the win.

That result capped a great month for Pompey slightly blotched by the away defeats to Everton and Spurs, but now we were favourites for the cup and still had a chance of catching Everton in 5th.

Premier League Table on March 31st

4th: Liverpool - 59pts
5th: Everton - 57pts
6th: Portsmouth - 53pts
7th: Blackburn Rovers - 50pts
8th: Aston Villa - 49pts