Pompey wake up this morning with still a mathematical chance of survival, its the slimmest of slim chances, a red cross is already on the door and the cry of ‘bring out your dead’ is in the streets, but the Pompey pulse still throbs.
Pompey had 4 kids on the bench to reflect our predicament, while Ashdown came in for his 50th appearance with James kept in cotton wool. Rocha John Rocha returned from his facial injury, while Kanu and Utaka started up front with Piq also rested on the bench.
It was a scrappy game with few highlights, Utaka looked lively early on, forcing Robinson into an early (easy) save, and then cutting in well from the left and finding O’Hara, his header almost gave us the lead, but Givet headed off of the line. Blackburn responded instantly, Dunn clipping the post with Ashdown beaten, Ashdown was a bit nervy early on, but he grew with the game and started to look more assertive the longer it went on.
The rain was heavy and incessant, this did little to improve the spectacle, and Blackburn were to strike the post once more on the stroke of half time, this time Samba was the vitim, his header bouncing to safety.
Both sides got locked in a midfield battle as the second period got away, but on the hour Vanden Borre saw red for a ridiculous handball, it was nowhere near goal and he earned a second yellow, in my opinion it was an instictive handball, the sort your arm does without your brain having anything to do with it, but off he went, out of the game and out of the semi-final.
With half an hour to go, Blackburn had the advantage, but to be fair Pompey never looked like a side with a man less, Mokoena and Mullins were having good games at the back with Rocha, the former Blackburn man in particular making several timely interceptions and clearances.
Pompey had a chance to score a breakaway, Piquionne was on, and Basinas who I thought had a stinker in general, made the tackle of the game to release him, he ran the length of the pitch but ran of steam before getting a strike off.
Lenny Sowah got a first appearance as Mullins switched to the right to replace Vanden Borre, he got a good 20 minutes under his belt, this can only bode well for him.
So 0-0 it was, hardly game of the season, but Pompey are showing fight and that is all we can ask for right now.
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