Monday 2nd May had been earmarked as a Fans' Day at Fratton Park with events starting in the afternoon and carrying on until early evening. All reports afterwards would suggest it was a big success. Another step on the road towards the fans and their Club coming closer together rebuilding the fan:Club relationship rifts that had appeared during the last few years.
With the Sky TV cameras at Fratton Park to broadcast the match - including a temporary studio in the corner between The Milton End and The North Terrace - the tone of the evening's entertainment was set by the loud and persistent drum group Batala and a fans' display of '1898' on the Fratton End.
Throw in to the mix a large following of away fans from East Anglia an unexpected 0-3 home defeat for their rivals Cardiff City earlier in the day and everything was set for a perfect evening of football.
The atmosphere at times was one of the best I've heard for some time with both sets of fans playing a part.
The football wasn't the greatest, a very stiff easterly wind blowing across the ground didn't help matters and Pompey struggled to get a decent shape and pattern to their game. They did improve in the second half but lacked the quality to cause their vistors any real problems on the night.
There were however a few 'highlights' in the first half worth mentioning.
Both Hermann Hreidarsson and Aaron Mokoena were struggling against a Norwich team with enough pace to cause them problems. Mokoena was booked for one particularly nasty looking hack whilst Hreidarsson got frustrated as he tried to contain his opposite number and was booked for a shirt pull, not his first offence of the evening.
Simeon Jackson, who scored a hat-trick in the vistors' previous game at Carrow Road was looking particularly lively and likely to cause Pompey problems.
The vistors should have scored in the opening minutes an unmarked Norwich player - Zak Whitbread - had a free header in the six yard box but when it looked easier to score he put his header, from a free-kick, wide of the goal. It was hands-on-head in disbelief time all round.
Leading Norwich striker Grant Holt also had an opportunity, doing well to work some space in the penalty box but his goalward bound effort lacked any pace at all and Mokoena was able to clear it off the line to safety.
For Pompey, David Nugent looked off colour - he's worked hard all seasonand it showed - and overall the team were unable to get the ball in to the feet of Kanu as often as they would like for him to weave any magic. As is often the case these days, Kanu was the one player in the Pompey team who looked the likeliest to create an opening but it just wasn't his night.
Ritchie De Laet produced one or two of his pacy, 'run at em' moments down the right hand flank, sometimes drifting infield, which sadly came to nothing. I'm not sure he did himself justice on the night in front of the TV cameras and any Manchester United fans who may have been watching.
On the overall balance of play, the vistors looked the better team and Pompey did well to go in on level terms at half-time.
At half-time news came through that TV replays had apparently picked-up a Norwich handball by Tierney which was missed by everyone in the ground.
HT: Portsmouth 0-0 Norwich City
The goal which settled the match came five minutes in to the second half.
The ball was crossed from the midfield, into the wind and towards the far post on the left. The wind held it up enough to put Ashdown in to two minds about whether to come and collect or not, De Laet was found wanting and Jackson nipped in behind him to send a diving harder past the Pompey goalkeeper and in to the net. The away fans went mad.
Despite the Fratton Faithful doing their best to lift their team Pompey didn't have too many clearcut chances in the second half of note.
Steve Cotterill tried to shake things up a bit by bringing on more attacking firepower in Liam Lawrence, David Cotterill and Danny Webber at various points in the second half, but to no avail.
Norwich were able to hold out and the Premier League prize was theirs. The final whistle from referee Mr D'Urso was the signal for a huge celebration, including a pitch invasion for which their may yet be repurcussions for Pompey.
FT: Portsmouth 0-1 Norwich City
Here are some pictures from the evening.
Portsmouth versus Norwich City: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie De Laet, Aaron Mokoena, Greg Halford, Hermann Hreidarsson, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, Carl Dickinson, Joel Ward, David Nugent, Kanu. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Nadir Ciftci, Liam Lawrence, Danny Webber
Attendance: 17,113 a good crowd for a Bank Holiday Monday helped by a large away following that filled out the whole of The Milton End in anticipation of a promotion party, which was duely delivered.
MOTM: the official Pompey award went to Joel Ward but I thought it should have gone to Hayden Mullins who worked tirelessly in the midfield and had a good game.
Next up: Scunthorpe United (a) on Saturday 7th May at 12:45PM
BlueThruAndThru
