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Pompey pile on misery for Paul Ince's men

30/11/2008

Portsmouth blew a two-goal lead before beating Blackburn Rovers 3-2 at Fratton Park.

Pompey were 2-0 up thanks to goals from Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe, before being pegged back by Matt Derbyshire and Tugay replying for Rovers.

But the home side clinched only their second league win since Tony Adams took over when Shaun Davis struck 11 minutes from time.

The result catapults Pompey into eighth place while Rovers languish one place off the bottom and have gone nine games without a win.

In a lacklustre first 45 minutes, Pompey made the brighter start and should have scored on three minutes when Peter Crouch set-up Glenn Little but he shot straight at Paul Robinson.

Rovers slowly came into the game with Benni McCarthy going close when he rounded goalkeeper David James but Noe Pamarot made the recovering tackle just as the striker was about to pull the trigger.

In contrast, the second-half was a breathtaking affair which started with the home side going 1-0 up on 50 minutes when Crouch headed in Glen Johnson's cross.

Three minutes later, Tony Adams' men doubled their lead when substitute Niko Kranjcar's pass found Defoe who slotted the ball past Robinson.

But Rovers began the comeback on 62 minutes when Morten Gamst-Pedersen cross was headed in by substitute Derbyshire to make it 2-1.

And five minutes later they levelled the score when Tugay unleashed a 15-yard drive into the bottom corner.

Adams then hauled off Crouch and brought on Kanu in search of a rare league win. And their attacking intent paid off on 79 minutes when Robinson parried Papa Bouba Diop's ferocious shot which allowed Davis to tuck in the rebound.

Portsmouth held on in the final ten minutes to banish memories of throwing away a two-goal lead in Thursday's Uefa Cup tie with AC Milan.