Harry got his tactics spot on. Despite having to weather an early wave of Blackburn attacks where Roque Santa Cruz hit the post with a header and Benni McCarthy somehow missed from close range, they didn't create many other good chances of note.
This is down to Harry playing a strong 4-5-1 where Kanu held the ball up very well and the strength of Davis, Diop and Muntari meant that we won the midfield battle. Some clever play allowed us to create more decent chances than our hosts, with Brad Friedel making an excellent double save from Kanu before he scored and one late on from Taylor who looked odds on to score from around 6 yards out.
Kanu's goal was quality. A long ball by Sylvain Distin was knocked on by Diop into the path of Kanu who made a diagonal run through the Rovers defence, rounded Friedel and then shrugged off Warnock to slot in from a tight angle. The Nigerian continues to impress and there's no wonder why David Nugent can't get in the team when Kanu is doing so much for the team.
Sylvain Distin continues to be the pinnacle of our defence. His pace and strength at the back are a real asset to the team whilst he has always been consistent since joining the club. That's two clean sheets against two very good sides since the Arsenal debacle, something that will please all Pompey fans.
Sean Davis was probably the man of the match. Why he takes so much stick from some of our supporters is beyond me. I will elaborate on this in another article but he is truly under-rated by many.
We're the first English team to beat Blackburn since early April since they've held Arsenal and Chelsea both to draws. This is a marker to show how far we could go this season and now we should climb the table now this difficult start to the season is well and truly out of the way.
So, credit to Harry and the team for pulling off such a terrific result at a ground where hardly any team are going to leave with three points this season. Let's hope for a Lancashire double come Tuesday!