I have no idea what David James was thinking when he rushed out into the right back position to try and tackle Benjani. Sol Campbell had the situation under control but before you know it our former player is passing to Stephen Ireland who mishits his shot which falls for Darius Vassell to slot into an empty net with barely 10 minutes gone.
The disatrous start for Pompey continued as Martin Petrov took advantage of more sloppy defending in the box and his shot took a deflection and went in. Once again we had conceded two goals in a short space of time and it looked like the game would be over already.
But before you knew it, the returning John Utaka had pulled a goal back from a corner after City failed to deal with a corner and the Nigerian's flick wasn't closed down quick enough by the City 'keeper. 2-1 and we were back in it....
...until Hermann Hreidarsson gets himself stupidly sent off for a professional foul after he pulled Vassell back when he was the last man. I don't think Vassell would have scored but it was a silly thing to do and he'll now be banned for the Blackburn game next week.
David James made a great save from Vassell by tipping over a 30-yard curler that was heading for the top corner, so that went some way to atoning for his earlier error.
Strangely, we played better in the second half despite being a man down and being forced to shift Sulley Muntari into left back.
The Ghanian smashed a shot onto the post and John Utaka's follow up hit the other, Defoe had a good case for a penalty after Dunne's sliding challenge didn't make contact with the ball whilst Niko Kranjcar really should have shot himself when he made his way into the box, rather than cut the ball back for another player.
Despite our chances, City had their own and you just knew what was coming when Benjani turned Sylvain Distin and rifled a shot past James to finish the game off.
Like he said, he didn't celebrate the goal when he was more than entitled to after going so long without scoring and ending that drought with one of the best goals he has scored this season. It just shows you that the man has much dignity after that gesture and I admit that I did raise a slight smile despite just going 3-1 down.
Substitute Milan Baros had a one-on-one chance to get Pompey straight back into the game but could only fire straight at Joe Hart. The final whistle blew and although we put up a fight with ten men, nobody can say that City didn't deserve to win after the way our defence performed today.
Campbell and Distin spent much of the game moaning at each other as both were getting battered by Benjani (Sol in particular) and given the runaround by Vassell. We didn't make the most of City having to play a makeshift defence and we often made the wrong decision when we got near City's box.
The positive to be taken from today is that we gave it a real good go when we were down to ten men which proves that the players aren't just waiting for the cup final to arrive. John Utaka also played quite well having come back from injury so hopefully he can build on that.
The race for fifth is still on but it's out of our own hands now. We'll probably have to win our final three games and hope that both Everton and Villa drop points (they play each other next week). Our defence must toughen up for the visit of Blackburn next week though otherwise our league season will threaten to peter out before our biggest game in 69 years.
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 6 - Some good saves can't mask his horrendous early mistake.
Lauren: 5 - Skinned by Petrov too many times and was lucky to only get a yellow for a nasty challenge.
Sol Campbell: 5 - Bettered by Benjani virtually all game.
Sylvain Distin: 5 - Probably his worst performance since joining from City.
Hermann Hreidarsson: 4 - Stupidly sent off.
John Utaka: 7 - Our brightest player.
Sulley Muntari: 7 - Did well to slot into various different positions during the game.
Papa Bouba Diop: 6 - Had a few long distance shots but lost the ball too often.
Lassana Diarra: 5 - Needs to get his match sharpness back as he looked well off the pace today.
Niko Kranjcar: 6 - Should have posed more of a threat.
Jermain Defoe: 6 - Had no service to get into the game.
Substitutes
Asmir Begovic
Lucien Aubey: N/A - Late sub.
Sean Davis: N/A - Had one attempt late on.
David Nugent
Milan Baros: N/A - Missed a one-on-one late in the game.