Kanu paraded the FA Cup in front of a half-full Abuja Stadium but didn't play due to injury. Harry Redknapp did field a strong side with Sol Campbell and Lassana Diarra the only notable absentees.
The game started in a flurry as Glen Johnson fouled Frazier Campbell in the box and United were awarded a penalty.
Carlos Tevez buried it but was forced to retake it because of encrouchment and then he hit the crossbar at the second attempt and Pompey cleared.
Crouch came close with a 40-yard effort soon after as the game dropped into the pedestrian pace you'd expect in a pre-season friendly.
Midway through the first half The Red Devils missed a few great chances as Chris Eagles slipped past Pedro Mendes and found himself one-on-one with David James but he skewed his shot wide.
Eagles then forced a good save from James and the Pompey 'keeper was called into action again when Frazier Campbell was put through one-on-one but hit his shot straight at Jamo.
Harry Redknapp looked frustrated when David James was booked for not taking a free kick and his frustration grew when Noe Pamarot and John Utaka were injured and were subbed for Linvoy Primus and Glen Little respectively.
In the second half Jermain Defoe tested Tomasz Kuczszak with a stinger but United took the lead after Eagles tapped in from six yards after Primus failed to deal with him.
Pompey did up the tempo after conceding but rarely looked like troubling the United defence. Defoe completely miskicked a free kick on the edge of the box but it was United who doubled their lead thanks to Carlos Tevez's quality solo strike.
Glen Johnson blasted another free kick well over the goal but Pompey generally struggled to create anything else until the 89th minute when Jermain Defoe cut inside the box struck the ball past the United keeper.
There was no time to find an equaliser as Manchester United won but I'm not going to look too much into the result. We were a bit one dimensional in the first half as the hoofball to Crouch didn't work but we looked better when we played to his feet.
Glen Little also impressed me with his trickery on the left of midfield whilst it was good to see Crouch and Defoe work well together at times as well as getting on the scoresheet.
Here's hoping that we will beat United when it really matters.