Portsmouth were quickly ground down by the eventual champions as a penalty and a trademark Beckham free kick saled into Hislop's goal, but a goal by Steve Stone reduced the arrears and a shock still seemed on the cards. Portsmouth came out strong in the second half, but harshly, another penalty was conceded and Scholes netted in the dying moments to give Man Utd a flattering 4-1 win.
A loss of more importance to Pompey was the home defeat to Sheffield United a week later, and a draw with south coast rivals Brighton and Hove Albion - Todorov scoring the equaliser - gave the chasing pack real impetus.
But just when Pompey started to wobble, the side's class shone through. Grimsby and Derby County were demolished at Fratton, new on-loan signing Yakubu Ayegbini netting three of Pompey's nine goals in the wins. A loss to Wimbledon notwithstanding, Pompey blitzed all in their path throughout March, Leicetser City the only other team to take a point from a match with the Blues. The most impressive was a 5-0 crushing of Millwall at The New Den - it was one less goal than Rotherham managed, but still a decent effort.
Such was Portsmouth's form that on April 12th, Portsmouth were in with a chance to clinch promotion against bottom of the heap Sheffield Wednesday. With Lee Bradbury, who had been on loan at Hillsborough previously, in the squad, the omens were good. Predictably, Bradbury opened the scoring.
However, with Portsmouth fans in party mood, the game turned on its head as Ashley Westwood equalised and then Michael Reddy scored a dramatic yet controversal winner in injury time. The win was not enough to keep Wednesday up, not enough to keep Portsmouth down. Three days later, Portsmouth claimed a place in the Premier League with an unforgettable win over Burnley - top scorer Todorov the hero.
The pressure was off, and Portsmouth put on a dismal display at play-off chasing Ipswich another three days later. Leicester City were no slouchs either and had a good chance of snatching the top spot Pompey had held for so long, but while they wobbled in games v Sheffield United and Norwich, Portsmouth florished, crushing Reading and Rotherham to claim Pompey's first title since the 1982/1983 season.
With the title in the bag, most teams would relax on the last day of the season. But, at Bradford, Pompey delivered yet another warning to Southampton and the rest of the Premiership with a 5-star performance at Valley Parade. Gianluca Festa, in his final game for Pompey, scored with a deflected cross and a Todorov hat trick sealed a classy 5-0 win for the Blues. If further proof that Pompey deserved their crack at the big time this was it. Roll on Aston Villa August 16th!
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Portsmouth FC's historian Richard Owen's book on Portsmouth's ascent to the Premier League - "Pompey's Rise To The Premiership" - is now available from the Pompey Shop at the price of £12.99 - the book will also be available in bookshops from August 14th. Complimented by full colour photographs, this is an informative reference to a season no Portsmouth fan will ever forget. The book comes highly recomended, and details every little thing about every match - the mood and size of the crowd, the weather, and of course the goals! The book is an excellent archive of last season. Please note Portsmouth MAD has not been paid to advertise this book.