Portsmouth 1-2 Birmingham City: Cameron Jerome double downs blunt Pompey

A first-half brace from Cameron Jerome ensured that Birmingham City avoided further misery on the south coast, as Alex McLeish’s side ran-out 2-1 winners against Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth started the brighter of the two sides at Fratton Park, clearly trying to incorporate the same level of pace and guile that saw them run out 2-0 winners over McLeish’s side at the weekend, with Aruna Dindane and Frederic Piquionne hurtling down the left and right flanks respectively.

The first notable effort arrived on six minutes, when Jamie O’Hara, having cut-in from the right flank, looked to whip a left-footed drive past Joe Hart, but the England hopeful got down quickly to grasp the ball.

Handed his debut by McLeish, Birmingham’s January signing Michel looked to grab a foothold in the match with a series of neat and tidy touches and short passing. Nevertheless, the persistence of the home side was proving triumphant against the Spaniard, as his team-mates struggled to offer the midfielder sufficient options.

Birmingham’s forward pairing of Christian Benitez and Jerome looked to mirror the attacking actions of Pompey’s frontline, and Jerome looked to find his strike partner in the box, but Mark Wilson cleared well.

Despite the home side’s early dominance, it was the visitors who took the lead on 15 minutes. Benitez drifted towards the edge of Portsmouth’s penalty area, and his pass appeared to take a deflection before finding Jerome, and the former Cardiff City striker calmly slotted the ball past David James.

Within minutes of the restart, Birmingham found themselves on the wrong side of yet another contentious moment at Fratton Park. A series of misplaced passes and deflections saw Benitez freed inside the box, before an awkward challenge from Hermann Hreidarsson brought the striker crashing to the ground. After a moment’s hesitation, the referee looked odds-on to award a penalty, but to the dismay of the visiting support, Benitez found himself booked.

Perhaps of diluted consolation was the decision not to book Michel, who chopped Danny Webber on the edge of the box. O’Hara took the resulting free-kick, but his trajectory was too high for his onrushing charges.

The match opened up in the final 15 minutes of the half, as both sides went relatively gung-ho in search of a goal. Craig Gardner should have extended City’s lead after good work from Michel and Benitez, before another strong run from Jamie O’Hara required the full concentration of Birmingham’s backline to snuff out the on-loan Spurs man.

Barry Ferguson was the purist’s culprit after he suppressed a delightful move by the home side. After Michael Brown won the ball on the edge of box, Tal Ben-Haim went on a surging run before releasing Dindane on the right. The Ivorian then sent a searching cross-field ball to the feet of O’Hara, who played in the overlapping Belhadj first-time, but the Algerian’s dangerous cross was clipped over the bar by the back-tracking Scot before Piquionne could head home.

The visitors then spurned a glorious opportunity to double their lead. The officials failed to rule Benitez offside, and with the striker bearing down on goal, all James could do was make himself big. The striker rounded the England stopper, but delayed his finish, allowing the retreating Steve Finnan to claim the ball with a last-gasp challenge.

Benitez was probably saved from a half-time rollicking when Jerome doubled his tally on 42 minutes. Once more the former England Under-21 striker found himself free in the box, after a wonderful back-heel from Benitez, and he drilled the ball past the rooted James.

After the interval, Avram Grant replaced Webber and Wilson with Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and Angelos Basinas, as the Israeli looked to inject some added craft into his side.

Stuart Parnaby had to be replaced on 50 minutes after a clumsy challenge from Dindane, and the former Middlesbrough man was replaced by former Spurs midfielder Teemu Tainio.

Nevertheless, it was Pompey’s former Arsenal man who began to dominate the proceedings, as the yellow boots of Owusu-Abeyie started to torment City’s backline, but much like the first half, Portsmouth failed to muster a decent attempt on Hart’s goal.

Seemingly from nowhere, Birmingham could have extended their lead. Keith Fahey burst free of his marker down City’s left flank, but his delivery to Jerome was over-hit, denying the striker a golden chance for a hat-trick.

With an hour gone, the home side almost found a goal. Belhadj sped down the left flank before driving a ball across the face of Hart’s goal, but Roger Johnson did enough to hustle the onrushing Piquionne, and the ball evaded them both before spinning out to safety.

Grant made his third and final throw of the dice with 25 minutes remaining, sacrificing Brown for veteran striker Nwankwo Kanu.

With 20 minutes left on the clock, it was apparent that City were demonstrating the kind of professionalism which has seen them surprise so many this season. McLeish’s side began to dominate the proceedings, but with a two-goal cushion, they were understandably attacking with patience.

Portsmouth continued to press, mainly through the persistent O’Hara, but for all of the midfield control they were unable to break down City’s defence, largely down to the impressive centre-back pairing of Johnson and Scott Dann.

Benitez was sacrificed with 10 minutes remaining, as James McFadden entered the proceedings, and the substitute almost made an immediate impact after cutting in from the right flank, but James did well to smother his drive.
Birmingham came close to snatching a third in the 89th minute, after Sebastian Larsson, who had replaced Michel, was played into the Pompey box but the Swede’s strike was straight at James.

Portsmouth finally grabbed a goal in stoppage time, as Kanu headed past Hart from a O’Hara’s corner, but it proved too little, too late for Grant’s side.