Pompey fell to their 20th Premier League defeat of the season after being crushed by Liverpool at Anfield.
A six-minute blitz in the first half put the game to bed as Rafa Benitez's men scored three goals during that time.
Jamie Ashdown, in for the injured David James, was at fault for the first goal after his clearance from a backpass hit Gerrard who passed to Maxi Rodriguez who squared the ball to Fernando Torres for a simple tap in.
Ryan Babel added a second after the Pompey defence failed to clear the ball or make a meaningful challenge on the Dutchman after he was set up by Torres, then more poor defending allowed Alberto Aquilani to predictably bag his first goal in English football.
Frederic Piquionne aside, I was disappointed to see Pompey roll over the way they did and let Liverpool dictate the first half. The performance of the defence as a unit and the midfield as a unit was simply not good enough.
The home side slowed things down in the second half but still managed to score a fourth as Ashdown was beaten at his near post again, this time by Torres who grabbed his second of the night after the defence failed to close him down.
The game's big talking point won't be the result but what Steven Gerrard did to Michael Brown after he clubbed him in the back of the head. It was a clear red card offence and the referee saw the incident yet did nothing, and predictably no action has been taken against "Stevie G" today, not that it has any baring on Pompey's season anyway.
Nadir Belhadj gave the small contingent of travelling Pompey fans something to cheer about when Piquionne put one on a plate for him late on but in the end it was yet more disappointment for us.
One thing I won't miss about the Premier League when we go down is these fixtures away to the "big four". Pompey have never beaten one of these teams on their own patch in the league and whilst they were a great novelty when we were first promoted, they are nothing but expensive tedium now.
On the other hand, a 4-1 defeat to a Liverpool side that contains hundreds of millions of pounds worth of talent is nothing to be ashamed of. Yet a 4-1 defeat away to Scunthorpe in the NPower Championship next season would be much more embarrassing.
The nine point penalty is forthcoming after HMRC accepted that Pompey's administration is valid whilst Sol Campbell will have to wait for his money after the court ruled in his favour that Pompey owe him money.
But even though Pompey are certain to go down and are in dire financial crisis, the fans still deserve a team that are going to play with some pride and that simply didn't happen last night.
Pompey Player Ratings
Jamie Ashdown: 4 - Made mistake for the first, beaten at his near post twice more.
Steve Finnan: 4 - Ran ragged by Torres.
Ricardo Rocha: 5 - Slow to react.
Marc Wilson: 5 - The sooner he returns to midfield, the better.
Hermann Hreidarsson: 5 - Couldn't keep up with the pace.
Michael Brown: 5 - Outbattled, quite literally in Gerrard's case.
Jamie O'Hara: 6 - A couple of good moments.
Papa Bouba Diop: 4 - Had no effect at all.
Aruna Dindane: 5 - Barely saw the ball.
Nadir Belhadj: 6 - Grabbed late consolation.
Frederic Piquionne: 8 - Tireless workhorse up front on his own.
Substitutes
Liam O'Brien
Aaron Mokoena (Diop 64): 5 - Got booked for dissent and didn't do much else.
Hayden Mullins
Richard Hughes
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (Hreidarsson 76): N/A - Looked lively again, Grant should start him more often.
Kanu
Danny Webber (O'Hara 85): N/A - Late change. |
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