Whisper it quietly but Pompey have hit a vein of good form: unbeaten in four matches, 10 points out of a possible 12 and three consecutive wins without conceding a goal is the evidence. The Pompey grinder is fully up-and-running and it's producing results. The outcome has been a steady, step-by-step rise up the table away from the dropzone.
Pompey made one change from the starting line-up against Barnsley, Liam Lawrence who limped out of that match, was replaced by Jonathan Hogg returning from a one match suspension. Aaron Mokoena returned to the bench. Dave Kitson was given the captain's armband ahead of David Nugent and Hayden Mullins other good candidates. There was one other absentee: Kanu who came on against Barnsley to turn the game didn't make it. Personal reasons and a visit to Nigeria have since been cited by Steve Cotterill.
As with the matches against Derby County, Doncaster Rovers and Barnsley chances were few and far between in this game and the style of football wasn't the prettiest ever witnessed at Fratton Park.
However, Pompey always looked to have more about them than a Crystal Palace side sitting a few places below them in the Championship table just above the dropzone.
The Eagles appear to have gone backwards since the reverse fixture earlier in the season when Neil Danns and James Vaughan in particular had put Pompey to the sword. On this occasion Danns was anonymous for much of the game and Vaughan got more and more frustrated as he tussled with his Ice Man marker with no positive outcome.
Vaughan was eventually replaced to a chorus of boos from the Pompey fans – a 'reward' for his petulant outbursts towards the referee Mr Malone - such a shame to see a young prospect react in this way, there was such high hopes for him during his early days at Everton. English football doesn't want to see him go off the rails a la Danny Cadamarteri another former Everton player although that would take some doing.
Two players stood out for Pompey during the first half: Jonathan Hogg and Ritche de Laet.
Hogg has added some bite and tenacity to the midfield alongside Hayden Mullins – how he must welcome having the on-loan Villain playing with him. He's been carrying the centre of midfield since the Brown-Hughes debacle, now he has a whipper snapper of an apprentice to work with and Pompey have a better shape in that part of the field as a result.
Whereas Hogg has grown in stature gradually with each game, De Laet has had a quiet start to his loan spell from Manchester United, occasionally showing glimpses of why he is on the Old Trafford playing staff.
However, in this game he came of age and showed what he's about.
There were two special moments in particular that stood out in his performance. The first started in his own half where he picked up the ball and showed a tremendous burst of speed to charge forward on a run that carried him past a number of Palace defenders. Just as it looked like his good work would end in a goal kick he managed to keep the ball in play and get in a right footed cross that was cleared by the defence. It was a great run that lifted the crowd.
Shortly afterwards, again in his own half, De Laet got himself out of trouble with a Cruyff-like turn that freed him from his opponent. He drove forward again and played a pass to David Nugent down the right whose cross in to the box was just too high for Dave Kitson to get a head on to.
If pace and skill are two of the basic pre-requisites required to be a success in The Premier League then De Laet has them both in abundance, he just hasn't demonstrated them consistently to date during his loan spell.
De Laet was eventually awarded the official Man Of The Match which was well deserved and warmly received by the Fratton Park crowd. If he continues to show this level of form for the remainder of the season Pompey fans could be in for a few more treats.
Despite having the better chances and looking the better team in the first half Pompey could not take advantage. David Cotterill had a couple of good opportunities including one that was blasted over the cross bar.
For the visitors Anthony Gardner found himself unmarked at the far post from a set piece only to put his header wide of the goal. He should have hit the target but as with much of the game Jamie Ashdown was rarely troubled.
HT Portsmouth 0-0 Crystal Palace
Despite Crystal Palace starting the second period brighter, Pompey's defence looked rock solid as it has done in the previous two games.
Pompey continued to press and won a series of set pieces to ensure they continued to turn the screw and put the Eagles under pressure.
One long range free kick from Greg Halford was drilled powerfully on goal and punched away by goalkeeper Julian Speroni.
Pompey were making more use of both flanks as Nugent, Cotterill and Hermann Hreidarsson found themselves in good positions to get crosses in to the danger area adding to the threats from Halford's long throw-ins.
The breakthrough finally came in the 65th minute. Halford took a long throw-in from the right hand side which was flicked on by skipper Kitson. The ball fell invitingly to Nugent who hit his shot into the turf and saw it bounce over the head of Speroni, who was slightly off his line, and in to the back of the net. It was Nugent's 10th goal of the season.
Earlier in the season Pompey were not always capable of maintaining a one goal lead or a winning position. But these are different times and Pompey's defence looks better organised, more resolute and more confident that one goal will be enough. Despite one scare where Palace found themselves in a good goal scoring position, the ball was cleared away for a corner by Greg Halford, this result was never in any doubt.
With four minutes of added time signalled Pompey brought on Aaron Mokoena to replace Joel Ward, a move to break up play and shore up the defence a bit more. Not all the fans are confident in Mokoena's abilities as a defender but there can be no substitute for experience and what a great position for Steve Cotterill to be in to be able to bring on the South African captain and holder of 100 international caps.
Pompey saw out the remaining added time to secure victory. They move up the table to 15th on 41 points.
Next up is Ipswich Town on Saturday 26th March at 3PM. The Tractor Boys are 13th on 42 points and in Pompey's sights.
It's time for the Pompey results grinder to roll in to Suffolk.
FT Portsmouth 1-0 Crystal Palace
Portsmouth versus Crystal Palace: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie de Laet, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Hermann Hreidarsson, Joel Ward, Hayden Mullins, Jonathan Hogg, David Cotterill, Dave Kitson, David Nugent. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Aaron Mokoena, Carl Dickinson, Tom Kilbey, Nadir Ciftci
MOTM: Ritchie de Laet
Attendance: 15,641 - there was a good turnout from the Eagles' fans combined with some half-term inspired attendees raising the size of crowd compared to recent home games.
BlueThruAndThru
