Portsmouth 3, Sunderland 1
May 19 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal
One of the substitutes, Armand Traore, very nearly had a quick impact. He had been on 10 minutes when his shot ballooned off Davenport and only just failed to find the far top corner of Marton Fulop’s net. It contributed yet another corner to the host Portsmouth had immediately after the restart, having failed to win one before.
They had made all the second-half running until Jones’ 59th-minute goal and responded to it within seconds. Sunderland can consider themselves unlucky, Crouch’s header from a long ball bouncing off Leadbitter and into the path of John Utaka, who scored. Referee Alan Wiley blew his whistle before the ball reached the midfielder, yet the goal stood.
Pompey’s second, nine minutes later, was self-inflicted. Richardson hit a free-kick into the wall, dribbling into the hands of Begovic.
When he punted the ball, Ferdinand advanced to clear but, distracted by an on-rushing colleague, missed it, giving Utaka a free run on goal. The midfielder rounded Fulop to create an open goal and in trying to retrieve the desperate situation, Phil Bardsley put the ball in for him. It fooled the man on the tannoy who credited the goal to Utaka, then Ferdinand before correctly naming the culprit. Bardsley came close to making amends, lashing a shot from long range and Richardson had a variety of pot-shots as Sunderland pushed forward.
But their best chance fell to Jones, picked out by Danny Collins in the 79th minute. He hit his volley on the full, but at the goalkeeper.
Davenport’s 86th-minute volley deflected for a corner, substitute Djibril Cissé meatily volleyed wide from it and shortly after Carlos Edwards’ cross picked out Jones, whose header picked out Begovic. The price was a high one, another long ball finding Traore and his shot condemned Sunderland to a nerve-tingling, text message-checking, fingernail-chewing horror of a Sunday. Only victory against Chelsea will guarantee their safety.
Roy Keane’s summer largesse was not meant to end this way.
