Portsmouth 1 Birmingham 2: match report

By Sandy Macaskill 625AM GMT 10 March 2010

Double tops Cameron Jermone scored twice for Birmingham opposite Portsmouth Photo ACTION IMAGES

Portsmouth are not going down but a fight. Unfortunately, the thing about throwing counsel to the breeze is that outward Hollywood it tends to usually finish one way.

Birmingham City returned to Fratton Park for the second time in 72 hours, and poured cold H2O over Portsmouths revitalising gunslinger, taking-you-with-me mentality, rock climbing behind up to eighth place in the Premier League in the process.

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Portsmouth had their chances, and it became a frolicsome event after Kanu had marked down the necessity in combined time, but their short run of form was accomplished by defensive shortcomings that authorised Christian Benitez to twice send Cameron Jerome transparent in the area, the striker great with his sixth and seventh goals of the season, creation him Birminghams top-scorer and withdrawal Avram Grants side 4 points adrift at the wrong finish of the table.

Having won 3 of their last 4 games in all competitions Portsmouth had reason for great hearten entrance in to this fixture. According to their manager, the Portsmouth essence hold strong. "Spirit is something we have here in abundance," Grant wrote in his programme notes. But afterwards suggestion is not the problem.

At this point, that takes caring of itself. The Israeli competence not be the sort to discipline the Agincourt debate in front of the counterpart prior to bedtime, but afterwards he doesnt have to administration department and imminent relegation has most finished the pursuit for him. He has all compulsory to erect the encircle genius that managers so love.

Courage and impression alone do not keep purify sheets, though, and a heroic opening duration of charge finished precisely on the quarter-hour symbol when Benitez cut open the Portsmouth defence, Jerome threading the round past David James in to the far dilemma in stoical fashion. For James, who had been gentle sufficient to outlay the infancy of the time until afterwards outward his area, it would have been sufficient to weep.

Jerome and Benitez are not in all a manly set upon pairing - McLeish supposed that a European place is not picturesque "unless the strikers go on a scoring burst" - but they were transmitting on the same magnitude here. The Ecuadorian conjured Jeromes second with a back-heel that bamboozled everybody but Jerome, who was left with usually James to beat.

It was the sort of thing that has footballers dropping their heads, but rather than let their fire passageway for liquid and die Portsmouth pulpy on, Kanu scoring in time allowed. It carried the mood but in the finish their tough work came to nothing.

"The greatest complaint is that we do not know what the complaint is," Grant pronounced of the Leagues perplexity to excellent the bar 9 points. "It is inspiring the players." On second thoughts, he has his work cut out geeing them up in time for Liverpool subsequent Monday.