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Portsmouth 1-1 Sunderland: Aruna Dindane brings Pompey back to life
Striker's late finish saves home side from disaster...
9 Feb 2010 21:40:00
By Matthew Harold
Portsmouth 1-1 Sunderland: Line-up & stats
Premier League results/standings
Portsmouth striker Aruna Dindane saved his side in injury time from what would have been an undeserved defeat as the Fratton Park outfit came from behind to draw 1-1 with Sunderland in a game that saw three red cards.
The first half came to life when Darren Bent was played through but as he thundered into the box, Portsmouth debutant Ricardo Rocha brought him to the ground. After the referee Kevin Friend pointed to the spot, he then went and showed a red card to Hassan Yebda.
The chaos that resulted lasted for nearly four minutes until the assistant pointed his colleague in black into the right direction, which ultimately resulted in Rocha being sent from the field.
Bent showed the ultimate composure after the lengthy delay in order to slot the penalty past David James and give Sunderland an early one goal lead.
The Black Cats did not capitalise on their one man advantage, however, with the front pairing of Bent and Kenwyne Jones receiving a lack of service from their midfield colleagues.
Instead they looked to hold on to possession which allowed their hosts to push further forward in search of the equaliser which would help them massively in their fight for survival.
The main player at the centre of all of the action for the home side was on-loan Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O’Hara who was a powerhouse in the Portsmouth midfield. It was his pass which set up striker Dindane whose shot was expertly saved by Craig Gordon’s legs.
O’Hara was the next one to have the Scotland keeper scrambling, when his shot with the outside of the boot went just past Gordon’s right-hand post. This gave the home side even more hope that they could make their way into the game as they looked to drag their visitors into the relegation zone with a positive result.
But as with most of the season, Portsmouth have not had the best of luck and that was most evident when both Dindane and O’Hara, running towards the Sunderland goal, managed to somehow conspire to crash into each other which ultimately resulted in another chance going begging.
Steve Bruce was next to see some bad luck, as he watched his injury list become extended by another body, when midfielder Steed Malbranque picked up an injury which meant he could not continue. This meant that Bruce was forced to bring on Boudewijn Zenden to replace the injured Frenchman.
When the half-time whistle was sounded by referee Friend, that queued Portsmouth manager Avram Grant to race towards the referee and launch a barrage of abuse towards the official who was left with no option but to send the Pompey gaffer to the stands.
The second period started with both sides looking to attack at any opportunity, with Portsmouth claiming for a penalty when Frederic Piquionne went down in the box. But seconds later they were to be helped by the referee who sent off Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole for his second dangerous challenge in just the space of a few minutes.
But Mr Friend then went back into the black books of the home support as Piquionne once again fell in the penalty area, leading to calls of derision from those in the Fratton Park stands wearing blue.
Sunderland finally found a way into the Portsmouth box when Bent tested James with a stinging shot which the England keeper wisely put behind for a corner. From the resulting corner, the Black Cats were extremely unlucky not to go two in front when Matthew Kilgallon struck a volley from the edge of the area which rattled the Pompey post.
Steve Bruces' side maintained that attacking emphasis and were unfortunate not to see their lead extended when Darren Bent drilled a cross into the six-yard box but his strike partner Jones could not reach the ball in order to make the game safe for the visitors.
The home side were then lucky not to see themselves score their fourth own goal in less than a week when defender Marc Wilson placed the ball past his own goalkeeper after Darren Bent had struck. Fortunately for the Irish defender, the assistant referee had put his flag up to signal Bent as being offside.
Portsmouth used this escape to help them go forward and that pressure resulted in Piquionne striking an effort which he was unlucky to see go out for a corner.
With less than five minutes to go, the referee sent off the third player of the game when Sunderland substitute David Meyler was adjudged to have thrown an elbow at Portsmouth defender Steve Finnan.
This helped the home side to push even further forward, but they found the Sunderland defence solid, even though the referee was no help when the ball hit Sunderland striker Jones on the hand inside the penalty box.
Pompey then piled men into the box and were rescued when Dindane headed home deep into injury time to save Pompey from what would have surely been the final nail in their relegation coffin.
Premier League results/standings
Portsmouth striker Aruna Dindane saved his side in injury time from what would have been an undeserved defeat as the Fratton Park outfit came from behind to draw 1-1 with Sunderland in a game that saw three red cards.
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The first half came to life when Darren Bent was played through but as he thundered into the box, Portsmouth debutant Ricardo Rocha brought him to the ground. After the referee Kevin Friend pointed to the spot, he then went and showed a red card to Hassan Yebda.
The chaos that resulted lasted for nearly four minutes until the assistant pointed his colleague in black into the right direction, which ultimately resulted in Rocha being sent from the field.
Bent showed the ultimate composure after the lengthy delay in order to slot the penalty past David James and give Sunderland an early one goal lead.
The Black Cats did not capitalise on their one man advantage, however, with the front pairing of Bent and Kenwyne Jones receiving a lack of service from their midfield colleagues.
Instead they looked to hold on to possession which allowed their hosts to push further forward in search of the equaliser which would help them massively in their fight for survival.
The main player at the centre of all of the action for the home side was on-loan Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O’Hara who was a powerhouse in the Portsmouth midfield. It was his pass which set up striker Dindane whose shot was expertly saved by Craig Gordon’s legs.
O’Hara was the next one to have the Scotland keeper scrambling, when his shot with the outside of the boot went just past Gordon’s right-hand post. This gave the home side even more hope that they could make their way into the game as they looked to drag their visitors into the relegation zone with a positive result.
But as with most of the season, Portsmouth have not had the best of luck and that was most evident when both Dindane and O’Hara, running towards the Sunderland goal, managed to somehow conspire to crash into each other which ultimately resulted in another chance going begging.
Steve Bruce was next to see some bad luck, as he watched his injury list become extended by another body, when midfielder Steed Malbranque picked up an injury which meant he could not continue. This meant that Bruce was forced to bring on Boudewijn Zenden to replace the injured Frenchman.
When the half-time whistle was sounded by referee Friend, that queued Portsmouth manager Avram Grant to race towards the referee and launch a barrage of abuse towards the official who was left with no option but to send the Pompey gaffer to the stands.
The second period started with both sides looking to attack at any opportunity, with Portsmouth claiming for a penalty when Frederic Piquionne went down in the box. But seconds later they were to be helped by the referee who sent off Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole for his second dangerous challenge in just the space of a few minutes.
But Mr Friend then went back into the black books of the home support as Piquionne once again fell in the penalty area, leading to calls of derision from those in the Fratton Park stands wearing blue.
Sunderland finally found a way into the Portsmouth box when Bent tested James with a stinging shot which the England keeper wisely put behind for a corner. From the resulting corner, the Black Cats were extremely unlucky not to go two in front when Matthew Kilgallon struck a volley from the edge of the area which rattled the Pompey post.
Steve Bruces' side maintained that attacking emphasis and were unfortunate not to see their lead extended when Darren Bent drilled a cross into the six-yard box but his strike partner Jones could not reach the ball in order to make the game safe for the visitors.
The home side were then lucky not to see themselves score their fourth own goal in less than a week when defender Marc Wilson placed the ball past his own goalkeeper after Darren Bent had struck. Fortunately for the Irish defender, the assistant referee had put his flag up to signal Bent as being offside.
Portsmouth used this escape to help them go forward and that pressure resulted in Piquionne striking an effort which he was unlucky to see go out for a corner.
With less than five minutes to go, the referee sent off the third player of the game when Sunderland substitute David Meyler was adjudged to have thrown an elbow at Portsmouth defender Steve Finnan.
This helped the home side to push even further forward, but they found the Sunderland defence solid, even though the referee was no help when the ball hit Sunderland striker Jones on the hand inside the penalty box.
Pompey then piled men into the box and were rescued when Dindane headed home deep into injury time to save Pompey from what would have surely been the final nail in their relegation coffin.
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