Carson's Nightmare

Last updated : 15 March 2008 By Jim Bonner
Scott Carson made two gaffes to gift Pompey the points against Aston Villa which now means that we're sixth in the league with 50 points with 8 games still to play.

The Villa 'keeper was caught in no mans land on the edge of his box and Jermain Defoe produced a great chip to lob him and score his sixth goal in as many games and give Pompey the lead.

Carson's second gaffe was worse though as he raced about thirty yards out of his goal to clear the ball played through by Sulley Muntari but he lashed his clearance against Nigel Reo-Coker and the ball deflected into an empty net to gift us a second goal.

Villa looked most likely to threaten us via the lively Ashley Young but anything Martin O'Neill's side created in the first half was either thwarted by David James or comfortably dealt with by the defence that were missing Sol Campbell and playing Lauren at left back.

Having gone into half-time with a two goal lead, Pompey were happy to sit on that during the second half and a solid defensive display ensured that the visitors didn't create too many chances, though how Agbonlahor didn't tap in Barry's cross I'll never know.

O'Neill threw on Marlon Harewood and despite his disallowed goal for offside he didn't have that much of an impact. Pompey should have had a third after some excellent build up play to work the ball from our own half to the wing in their half and then outside the box left Niko Kranjcar open but he skewed his shot off target.

Jamo denied his old club a goal late on with a decent save from Ashley Young's free kick but Pompey couldn't find the third goal to kill Villa off as Muntari and Diop "Quashied" shots over the bar.

Sulley was sent off by Chris Foy late on for a second bookable offence after picking up a yellow card earlier on for a silly foul. I think the red card may have been a little harsh but the Ghanian had been warned during the game that persistent fouling wouldn't be tolerated.

Foy then evened up the numbers after Olof Mellberg received his second yellow card for a professional foul on Defoe having acted violently to Niko Kranjcar earlier in the game.

And that was that. Pompey leapfrog Villa into sixth thanks to an inspired David James and Jermain Defoe. Fabio Cappello was at Fratton Park and would have been impressed with what he saw today, although it looks like Carson will have to wait a long time before he gets picked for England again after a day of gaffes and ridicule.

This was probably the most comfortable and straightforward wins we've had this season at home thanks to a strong defence and a great goalkeeper. We always looked dangerous going forward but sometimes just lacked that killer pass or perfect touch that would have brought even more goals.

It's great to support Portsmouth Football Club right now after a fantastic week of football. On a side note, Scummers lost 5-0 at Hull which sees them in deep trouble at the bottom of the Championship. So we could be looking at a season where we finish sixth in the league, win the FA Cup and watch our rivals sink into the depths of League One.

That would be just too good to be true, surely?

Pompey Player Ratings

David James: 8 - Some top saves to reinforce his status as England's Number One.

Glen Johnson: 7 - Fine display in defence and going forward.

Sylvain Distin: 8 - Dealt with Villa's balls into the box well.

Hermann Hreidarsson: 8 - Won the battle against Carew and filled in for Sol brilliantly.

Lauren: 7 - Solid at left back.

Papa Bouba Diop: 7 - Strong showing and much improved performance over recent games.

Lassana Diarra: 8 - His all-action display played a big part in controlling the midfield for much of the game.

Sulley Muntari: 6 - Too many petty fouls in an otherwise good display.

Niko Kranjcar: 6 - Wasn't involved much but caused some problems.

Milan Baros: 7 - Constant running meant the Villa defence were always on their toes.

Jermain Defoe: 8 - Sublime chip capped a lively display.

Substitutes

Jamie Ashdown

Lucien Aubey

Pedro Mendes

John Utaka: N/A - Late sub for Defoe.

Kanu: N/A - Late sub for Baros.