03/02/07: Premiership Matchday #26: Wigan Athletic 1 Pompey 0
Wigan had suffered 9 straight defeats before meeting Pompey at the JJB Stadium so you just knew we were going to lose. The fog had obscured the view up the other end of the pitch meaning we could barely see who had scored in the second half in a game where Pompey offered absolutely nothing and looked like they were the side who had suffered nine defeats on the trot. Getting back on the coach I was told that it was Lee McCulloch who scored the winner, as there were no such feelings to match those of our last visit to the JJB Stadium, just a lot of misery.
Grim In The Fog
Man City were up next at Fratton Park and home fixtures with City are always eventful...
10/02/07: Premiership Matchday #27: Pompey 2 Manchester City 1
This fixture was remembered last year for Pedro Mendes' two cracking strikes that ultimately began our Great Escape and the Portugueezer made his mark again with an almost identical strike in the first five minutes to give Pompey the lead. Mendes would then be victim of a vicious challenge from a City player once again as Joey Barton stamped on the back of his Achilles and forced him off.
Pompey were clearly rocked by losing their best player on the pitch as City came out in the second half, created chances of their own and were level after Bernado Corradi headed in Vassell's cross. Harry Redknapp; sent to the stands for an abusive tirade at the referee at half-time, sent on Kanu who poked in a late goal to give Pompey their first victory of 2007.
All About Pedro
Milan Mandaric finally acquired Leicester City whilst Pompey had a week off due to not being in the FA Cup unlike our next opponents who had to play 3 times between our game with City and the clash with us. You would never have known...
25/02/07: Premiership Matchday #28: Blackburn Rovers 3 Pompey 0
David James had looked dodgy during the warm up and he carried that into the game as he rushed out of goal needlessly at Shabani Nonda who just lobbed him to give Rovers the lead in the 2nd minute. The Pompey 'keeper then collided with Pamarot whilst trying to take a cross, leaving Nonda to tap in a second for Blackburn. Any hopes of a comeback were dashed early in the second half as Steven Warnock knocked in a third goal from a far post cross. The embarrassment looked to have got even worse when James brought down Nonda in the box, but he saved the resulting penalty to deny the striker his hat-trick. Even so, this was a game Jamo will have wanted to forget straight away.
Calamity James
So after another bad month in 2007, Pompey were out of the UEFA Cup places for the first time all season following to awful away days. Still, victory over Man City meant we couldn't mathematically be relegated, meaning we were safe from the drop with 11 games to spare.
Premiership Table After Matchday 28
5th: Bolton - 47pts
6th: Reading - 43pts
7th: Everton - 42pts
8th: Portsmouth - 41pts
9th: Tottenham - 39pts
10th: Blackburn - 37pts