Portsmouth Win FA Cup

Duncan Castles
The Guardian

The Pompey Chimes bellowed out as the FA Cup was liberated from the big boys and returned to an old South Coast home. Seven years the grand old trophy spent at Fratton Park as football waited out the Second World War, 69 summers have a handful of veteran Portsmouth bell-bashers longed to win the thing for a second time.

They, and all their younger brethren, can be proud not just of victory, but also the manner of it. Portsmouth were marginally the better team in a match that was, by some distance, superior in entertainment than the Chelsea-Manchester United final that preceded it and quite possibly the Champions League final that will follow.

Only David James’ sustained excellence prevented Cardiff from taking a first-half lead that would have been well merited. Sadly, Peter Enckelman’s ragged handling allowed Kanu in for the close-range goal that kept the Cup from the Welsh. Having smuggled Doctor Who away from the English, grabbing their most famous trophy was perhaps too much to ask.

It is an odd season that concludes with more English (and more Premier League) clubs in the Champions League final than the FA Cup’s. It was refreshing too that Portsmouth v Cardiff guaranteed a first victory for a team outside the top tier’s fearsome foursome since 1995.

Portsmouth arrived at Wembley knocking back reports that the game would be Harry Redknapp’s last as manager. Booed off Fratton Park the previous weekend, his team were some way off form - without a point in four matches and a goal in three. Deprived of Cup-tied leading scorer Jermain Defoe, the manager culled Papa Bouba Diop from his line-up, exchanging the Senegalese’s height and muscle for Pedro Mendes’ more studied presence and pushing Lassana Diarra further forward in the midfield. The formation remained the counter-oriented 4-1-4-1 with which his team had achieved their highest Premier League finish of eighth.

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