Southampton 1-4 Portsmouth

Southampton
01 Kelvin Davis
03 Wayne Thomas
05 Chris Perry
06 Radhi Jaidi
02 Dan Harding
14 Dean Hammond
19 Morgan Schneiderlin
37 Michail Antonio
20 Adam Lallana
07 Rickie Lambert
09 Papa Waigo N'Diaye


Subs:
Lee Barnard > N'Diaye
Lee Holmes > Perry


Portsmouth
01 David James
07 Hermann Hreidarsson
39 Nadir Belhadj
06 Hayden Mullins
08 Papa Bouba Diop
05 Jamie O'Hara
32 Hassan Yebda
33 Angelos Basinas
35 Marc Wilson
17 John Utaka
24 Aruna Dindane


Subs:
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie > Basinas
Frederic Piquionne > Utaka
Richard Hughes > Hreidarsson


Goals:
Southampton - Lambert 70 mins.
Portsmouth - Owusu-Abeyie 66, Dindane 75, Belhadj 82, O'Hara 85.


Referee: Howard Webb


Attendance: 31,385


Alas, it wasn't to be. The cupset factor gave St Mary's Stadium a miss today as Premier League basement club Portsmouth ran out 4-1 victors over League One Southampton. Make no mistake, this seemingly emphatic scoreline flattered Pompey, who were arguably second best to their Hampshire rivals for the majority of the first half and the first 10 minutes or so of the second. In the end, a combination of tiring defenders and Premiership experience meant there was to be no fairytale for the Southampton faithful, who turned out in great numbers, holding aloft cards to create a sea of red and white. Anyone watching on television would have been impressed with the atmosphere created by both sets of fans. Well, I was. So then, what happened?

Southampton started on the front foot, and continued to stay on top for much of the first half. Papa Waigo N'Diaye was guilty of 2 or 3 wasted efforts from good goal scoring opportunities, the best of which was a near post header which David James got down well to claw out. A rare scare for Southampton came when Jamie O'Hara's dipping 20 yard effort was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Kelvin Davis. The first half was a trouble-free affair. Referee Howard Webb gave no bookings and there was just the solitary minute of added time at the end of the first 45 minutes.

Into the second half, and Adam Lallana had a chance to put the home side in front; James making the save once again. The introduction of local boy Quincy Owusu-Abeyie spurred Portsmouth into life and they took the lead against the run of play. Owusu-Abeyie scoring with a calm shot which curled past the despairing dive of Saints keeper Kelvin Davis and into the bottom corner. 4 minutes later and Southampton were on level terms. A high free kick into the box was put beyond David James via the back of Rickie Lambert's head, his 25th of the season in all competitions. With 15 minutes remaining, Pompey retook the lead. Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (yep, him again), teed up Aruna Dindane to silence the home crowd for a second time.

Southampton thought they had equalised again when substitute Lee Barnard put the ball in the net, only for it to be ruled out for offside, cutting his celebrations short. If he had left the ball for the on-rushing Adam Lallana, however, the goal would have stood, with Lallana coming from an onside position. As it was, this proved costly. With Saints pushing forward for a second equaliser, they left themselves vulnerable to a counter attack. Nadir Belhadj was only too happy to oblige as he ran 3/4 of the length of the pitch and slotted home Pompey's third. The misery was complete for the home team five minutes from time when Belhadj made another run on the break, finding Owusu-Abeyie, who subsequently laid it off to O'Hara who volleyed home.

So Portsmouth through to the quarter finals, for Southampton it's back to concentrating on the league, and making a late push for the play-off's, not to mention a trip to Wembley next month for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final against Carlisle United. It's not all sunshine and buttercups for Portsmouth right now, and this victory may have given them a morale boost for their relegation battle. How much the foreign players really understood and how much they will take from this into their coming games is debatable. But the next few weeks will prove to be the most pivotal in the 112 year history of the club. Exciting ain't it?

Ciao for now.

Southampton v Portsmouth

Tomorrow sees the first South Coast derby since 2005. The Saints, in League One, take on Premier League opposition in the shape of bitter local rivals Pompey. Portsmouth have had a difficult week, going to court over unpaid monies to the Inland Revenue. The High Court has given the club a week to find new investment, or face being wound up on Friday 19th February.

In light of Pompey's perilous predicament, we of the red and white persuasion have come up with a few songs to sing on matchday. Here is my personal favourite, written by me and some good friends of mine. So here it is, to the tune of Three Lions (On A Shirt):

They’re going bust

They’re going bust
They’re going
Pompey’s going bust
(x2)

Claiming they’ve a new investor
We’ve heard it all before
We just know
It’s a lure

To keep them out of
Court for a week
Cos they’re right up shit creak
Pompey’s future is bleak
And now we’re singing

Portsmouth’s going bust
No more south coast derbies
We don’t give a f*ck
We’re on our way to Wembley

Punching above their weight for years
It had to end in tears
Pompey’s end
It is near

Come on, lets go pull

Fratton Park down

And the rest of their town

John Westwood is a clown

And now we’re singing

Portsmouth’s going bust
No more south coast derbies
We don’t give a f*ck
We’re on our way to Wembley

Portsmouth F C
Confined to history

They’re going bust
They’re going bust
They’re going
Pompey’s going bust
(x2)

Portsmouth’s going bust
No more south coast derbies
We don’t give a f*ck
We’re on our way to Wembley
(repeat to fade)

We're rather proud of it, although it may be a tad long to remember all the words before 12:30 tomorrow afternoon for everyone else, we know it off by heart, of course.