It looked like Wigan would certainly open the scoring when Luis Antonio Valencia was through on goal but his tame shot was remarkably clipped onto the crossbar by the onrushing Glen Johnson. The ball was subsequently put behind for a corner but everyone in blue had breathed a huge sigh of relief as Pompey had got out of jail.
A Hermann Hreidarsson long shot aside, Pompey hadn't really created anything and Wigan had looked more dangerous. That would change when a determined run into the box by John Utaka led to the ball breaking to Defoe who squeezed the ball into the net from a tight angle - a true striker's finish.
I think there might have been some complacency and a lack of urgency in the second half as we allowed the visitors to constantly attack us as well as keep possession.
Alan Wiley gifted Steve Bruce's side a chance to level after Sylvain Distin "tripped" Valencia in the box although it looked more like the Ecuador winger had fallen over so the decision was definitely harsh.
Justice was done when David James dived to his right to save Ryan Taylor's penalty and more cheers of relief rang around Fratton Park when Taylor "Quashied" the rebound over the bar.
James then made a superb stop to deny Sibierski late on as well as smothering the ball in the box before the onrushing Heskey could get to it. (Perhaps he should have done that in France too...)
Then, in the final minute of stoppage time Wigan and all five of their forwards were caught on the break and Kranjcar slipped Defoe through and he made no mistake by beating Kirkland one-on-one to score his eighth goal in seven games for Pompey.
So despite a few scares, a weakened Pompey side managed to overcome a weakened Wigan side. It wasn't the most convincing performance and there were injury scares for Hreidarsson and Utaka who were subbed off. Both should be fine for the semi-final should they be picked whilst Sean Davis will also be available as he avoided getting booked.
But did the squad players who played in the game put forward a strong case to start the semi final on Saturday? I don't think that Mendes or Davis did enough to budge Muntari and Diarra out of the side but John Utaka had his best game in ages and with Papa Bouba Diop not playing too well on the right, I think the Nigerian may start.
If Hreidarsson doesn't make it to Wembley then I'm sure Lauren will take his place, but I think David Nugent didn't do enough to convince Harry to start him ahead of Baros and/or Kanu on Saturday.
This result puts us on 53 points, meaning we only need two more to have had our best ever Premier League season. With Everton losing today, we are now only four points adrift of them and with an easier run in than the Toffees (on paper) we have a fair chance of catching them.
On a final note, it seems that many fans are angry over the way which the tickets were handled for the semi, with chants of "You can stick your ticketmaster up your arse! (Peter Storrie!)" coming from the Fratton End. So perhaps that situation needs to be re-assessed should we beat West Brom.
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 8 - Some good saves and a great penalty stop.
Glen Johnson: 7 - Vital goal line clearance capped a good performance.
Sol Campbell: 7 - Strong against Heskey.
Sylvain Distin: 7 - Fairly solid and was unlucky to give the penalty away.
Hermann Hreidarsson: 6 - Stood his ground but was caught out a few times.
John Utaka: 7 - Best performance in some time.
Pedro Mendes: 6 - Guilty of giving the ball away a bit too much.
Sean Davis: 6 - Good passing but understandably didn't get stuck in as much as he can.
Niko Kranjcar: 6 - Blew hot and cold.
Milan Baros: 6 - No real impact but chased a lot.
Jermain Defoe: 8 - Cool finishes capped a lively display.
Substitutes
Jamie Ashdown
Lauren: 6 - Calm and composed.
Richard Hughes: 6 - Slotted in fine.
Arnold Mvuemba
David Nugent: 6 - Won headers but was a bit hesistant to shoot.