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This was never likely to be a game they would get anything from – but now the test in front of them is how they recover for the two huge games ahead of them this week
Pompey kicked off at Old Trafford knowing punters on Betfair earlier in the day had them at 34/1 to win. Has there ever been such odds in a two-horse race?
The game started after a perfect minute’s silence in memory of the Munich air disaster on the 52nd anniversary.
Pompey looked reasonably comfortable early on, although Wayne Rooney wanted a penalty for a challenge by Freddie Piquionne.
Jonny Evans was close with a header from a corner before Danny Webber had sight of goal only to be denied by Edwin van der Sar.
Rooney raced in on goal midway through the first half and Pompey were grateful to Richard Hughes for getting a foot in to deny him.
Pompey had the best chance of the game to date on 34 minutes when Jamie O’Hara set up Nadir Belhadj for a well-hit shot which beat van der Sar but was cleared off the line by Evans. It came back to the Algerian but he screwed the follow-up wide, this time with his right foot.
At the other end Dimitar Berbatov must have wanted the turf to swallow him up when he put a shot wide from six yards after Gary Neville’s ball back to him – one of those ‘easier to score’ moments.
Pompey were 1-0 down soon after that – a simple goal as a short corner led to a cross from Darren Fletcher which Rooney headed in with David James rooted to his spot.
It got worse seconds before half-time when Nani crossed, Anthony Vanden Borre got a touch and it trickled past James who seemed to fall in slow motion as he was beaten by the softest goal he has let in for a long while.
So 2-0 and game over at half-time – now it was damage limitation time.
The start of the second half was similar to the same period in the first, in that Pompey held their own without really looking like scoring themselves.
But it wasn’t long before the floodgates opened again.
First Michael Carrick’s shot took a huge deflection and beat James via the underside of the bar, then a solo goal for Berbatov – aided by lax defending by Tal Ben Haim - made up for his earlier miss and made it four.
Piquionne gave the defence a brief bit of respite with a shot into the side netting but it wasn’t long before the ball was up the other end again and, more precisely, in the net.
The fifth was another own goal as Marc Wilson hit a volley past James from Patrice Evra’s cross. After that, United didn’t look like they were too bothered about scoring more and Pompey never looked like scoring any of their own.
Avram Grant used all three subs but the changes were never likely to make much difference to the balance of play – adnd Pompey had to play out time with ten men after Prince Boateng went off injured.
Elsewhere, three points apiece for Hull and Burnley and one each for Bolton and Wigan would hardly have cheered up Pompey’s fans on the long journey home, one on which they might have felt just a little relief they wouldn’t be returning to Old Trafford for some time. At least West Ham lost.
Pompey: James, Vanden Borre, Wilson, Ben Haim, Rocha, Hughes, Mullins, O'Hara, Webber, Belhadj, Piquionne. Subs: Ashdown, Quincy, Finnan, Boateng, Yebda, Basinas, Dindane.
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