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VIEW MATCH REPORT
Sunday 9 Apr 2006
Porstmouth 2 Blackburn 2
Porstmouth secure a vital point that also damages Blackburn's hopes of a Champions League place.

Portsmouth may have had to twice come from behind to claim a point against Blackburn but manager Harry Redknapp was convinced his revitalized side could have easily chalked up a fourth straight win.

"The boys played well and I'm delighted with them because we made better chances than a side going for fourth in the table," Redknapp said after watching Lomana LuaLua and Svetoslav Todorov cancel out two goals by Craig Bellamy.

"I spoke to one of their players after the game and he said it was a long time since they had been battered like that."

But Redknapp, whose side are one point adrift of safety following Birmingham's draw at Wigan, admitted that they could yet rue their failure to take a number of chances to claim all three points.

"It could go to the wire and I hope we don't regret missed chances here."

Blackburn boss Mark Hughes was disappointed that his Champions League-chasing side had failed to hold on to their leads, with the result that they have slipped four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the race for the final qualifying place for Europe's elite competition.

"I don't think either team dominated the game and we had opportunities to add to the score in the second half but the goals we conceded were poor from our point of view," the former Wales manager said.

"We gave away possession for their second and allowed a free header having missed a couple of tackles for their first. But we got two great goals from Craig Bellamy.

"He's a great outlet for us and he's in the middle of a smashing run of six in seven matches. He's still got a stiff back at times but whenever he has played he has done a great job for us.

"Ideally we'd have liked three points for our Champions League ambition but it is always hard getting a win when Harry has got Pompey in this sort of form."

Pedro Mendes has been instrumental to Portsmouth's late revival and he almost put them ahead with a 25-yard drive that skimmed over by inches.

Argentinian Andres D'Alessandro squandered a gilt-edged chance before the 2004 Olympic gold medal winner drew a good save from Brad Friedel as Pompey piled on the early pressure.

But it was Blackburn who took the lead against the run of play in the 32nd minute. Bellamy collected the ball on the halfway line, steamed down the left and unleashed an unstoppable shot that ended in the far corner of the net.

LuaLua's 41st-minute equaliser was the equal of that effort, a solo run ending with a stunning shot from the edge of the area that finally saw Friedel beaten.

The Congolese star almost put Pompey ahead immediately after the restart but Blackburn went ahead again just after the hour.

Former Arsenal winger David Bentley provided a cross which Bellamy controlled before spinning to fire home with his left foot.

Portsmouth refused to give up, however, and a period of sustained pressure culminated in Todorov getting in front of the Blackburn centrebacks to nod in a Matthew Taylor cross from the left.

The game could have gone either way in the closing stages.

Morten Gamst Pedersen was inches away from applying the touch that would have carried a Bellamy cross over the line and it took another good save from Friedel to deny Dejan Stefanovic, but on balance a draw was probably about right.


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 Email to a friend 		Rated 5
Posted by theguvner,Sunday 9 Apr 2006
Number of views: 72
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Posted By : thewiseone Ratings :Rated 5
Comments : Looks like this could be the end of Portsmouth's dreams!!! Coor it's going to be tight this year... come on you Blues!!!
Posted By : gavver Ratings :Rated 5
Comments : Pompey have a game in hand over Birmingham and West Brom. And it's against Sunderland!
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