Portsmouth Football Club News

Harry Redknapp turned away and marched down the tunnel in disbelief. Then he looked back at the pitch to see if it really was true. Yes, Darren Bent really had missed with a free header from six yards out. It had been the chance to win the match for Spurs late on, but instead Pompey left White Hart Lane with a deserved point. The Blues were hanging on after Jermain Defoe – inevitably – had equalised for Spurs with 20 minutes left, shooting through Sol Campbell’s legs from a neat little ball by Luka Modric. But until then Pompey had been just as threatening as Spurs, leading for 11 minutes after David Nugent’s opener. For Redknapp, at least, there was an inevitability about Nugent’s goal, drilled into the bottom corner after Armand Traore’s run down the left. It was Nugent’s first in the Premier League since Redknapp signed him for Pompey from Preston 18 months ago. “I think my missus could have scored it,” said Redknapp about Bent’s header wide of the post from David Bentley’s cross. “It was a great chance, the type you have to score to win football matches. It was game over if he’d scored. If he had headed it anywhere on target he would have been a goal.” Pompey’s draw snapped a run of four straight Premier League defeats. But that statistic masks the improvement the Blues have shown since switching to a 4-5-1 formation. The improvement began in a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal and continued through a goalless draw and 2-0 win over Bristol City in the FA Cup. The point at White Hart Lane pointed to further progress, with Pompey again looking tough to beat as Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin excelled at the heart of the defence. It was David James, however, who provided the standout moments at the back, saving superbly from Defoe and Aaron Lennon in the first half. Sean Davis, one of four former Spurs players in Pompey’s side, also did his bit, clearing Vedran Corluka’s header off the line. The 4-5-1 system also provided the platform for Pompey to create plenty, with Nugent denied after going clean through and brilliance needed from Heurelho Gomes and Corluka to thwart Peter Crouch and Traore. The draw lifted Pompey up three places to 12th with a game in hand on most teams. But just three points separate the bottom nine sides. Redknapp, however, believes there are 13 sides in danger, including Tottenham. “From Hull down, we’re all in it,” said the former Blues boss after facing his old club for the first time since leaving Fratton Park in October. “It’s going to be exciting right up to the end of the season. I wouldn’t like to predict the bottom three.”

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