Benjani didn't even make the 16 meaning Pompey went 4-5-1, as I predicted with Kanu up front on his own. The first half started poorly for both teams but Pompey soon took control and began to dominate the Hammers and put them under pressure. With just over quarter of an hour to go we won a corner, Mendes put the ball in the box and there was Linvoy Primus to head in an easy goal.
That goal was Linvoy's first in two years since his winner on Boxing Day 2004 against Crystal Palace. However I doubt even he'd imagined that he would be on the scoresheet twice in one game! Still... a silly handball by Spector gave Pompey a free kick, Mendes aimed for Primus and more shambolic defending from the Hammers allowed the fans' favourite to head in a carbon copy of his first goal to double Portsmouth's lead!
When the Pompey fans start signing "Linvoy's on his hat-trick" then you know your team is in trouble. We also created a couple of other decent chances through a Pedro Mendes scorcher and a Sean Davis overhead kick in which the rebound fell to Sol Campbell three yards out only for him to blast it over, Benjani style.
West Ham were under the cosh for much of the first half and only had one real decent chance of note as Matt Etherington skewed a close range toe-poke wide.
The second half was much different though. Subs Carlos Tevez and Teddy Sheringham changed the game as we failed to string any decent amount of passes together and we didn't create any real clear cut chances. The defence had a lot of work to do, some of it last ditch as West Ham were galvanised by the half time changes.
We kept defending deeper and deeper so inevitably the Hammers got one back after rare defensive errors from Campbell and James left the goal exposed, leaving Teddy Sheringham to chip the ball into the net despite Glen Johnson's desperate lunge to try and keep it out.
That goal set up a very tense last ten minutes where we had to endure almost endless pressure from the home side, although Sean Davis could have earned a haircut if his chip was just a little higher over Robert Green.
West Ham couldn't find an equaliser which meant that two rare goals from Linvoy Primus had given Pompey their third away win of the season. We were far from our best but I think our win was justified on the basis of our first half pressure and slack defending from the Irons. We were below par in the second half but managed to see out the West Ham pressure.
This result means we're now 5th in the table, leaping Liverpool, who lost. Our next opponents are Bolton Wanderers who are directly above us so Saturday's game is going to be very key indeed.
Finally, my apologies for my misinformation regarding Reo-Coker's "suspension". He was on 5 yellow cards which means he should have served a ban, but whether that ban is delayed or not, I don't know. The rule managed to even confuse reputable sources such as the BBC and Sky Sports.
Five points from virtual guaranteed safety and it isn't even 2007 yet. Who would've thought it eh?
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 6 - Brave but was occasionally indecisive.
Glen Johnson: 6 - Clumsy at times but was solid enough.
Sol Campbell: 7 - Solid at the back but made an error that led to West Ham's goal.
Linvoy Primus: 9 - Clear Man Of The Match. A rock at the back and scored twice from set-pieces.
Noe Pamarot: 7 - Strong as always.
Gary O'Neil: 6 - Typical performance from Gario this season. Tireless but nothing special.
Manuel Fernandes: 7 - Looks like he'll be a real success in the Premiership in time. Probably not for us, though.
Pedro Mendes: 8 - Calm and classy display from Pedro. Good deliveries for the goals and almost had one of his own.
Sean Davis: 7 - Was everywhere on the pitch but gave it away a bit too often.
Matthew Taylor: 6 - Quiet compared to recent games.
Kanu: 8 - Held the ball up well and worked his arse off up front on his own.
Subs
Jamie Ashdown
Andy O'Brien
David Thompson
Niko Kranjcar
Andy Cole: N/A - Time-wasting substitution.