Pompey Reach FA Cup Final

Portsmouth rose like a phoenix from the ashes this weekend; relegated on Saturday only to bag a spot in the FA Cup final on Sunday as they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0.

Despite Harry Redknapp playing up the danger of the troubled Premier League side in pre-match interview Tottenham, who are caught in a battle for fourth place in the table, were expected to comfortably join Chelsea in the final.

And while the London club did start the stronger Pompey, supported by it's army of fans, always posed a threat in the opening minutes of the game.

Frederic Piquionne looked the most lively of the Portsmouth strikers at the beginning of the game, although none of his shots were enough to trouble goal keeper Heurelho Gomes.

Similarly David James had plenty to do at the other end of the pitch as an early save from a Peter Crouch shot kept his side in the match.

Despite entertaining play from both sides and plenty of chances for either side to break the deadlock the half time whistle saw the teams locked together at 0-0.

Despite all the troubles off the pitch this season, and with relegation on Saturday, Portsmouth played with passion and fire that kept them well and truly in the game.

The went toe to toe with Tottenham, who struggled to break down the Pompey defence and gain the advantage.

Into the second half and Tottenham were still dominating much of the play, however they were still unable to find the back of the net.

With Jermain Defoe replaced with thirty minutes to go by Roman Pavlyuchenko it was left to Crouch to drive the match forward.

And despite his many valiant attempts he was thwarted by James or the Pompey defence. At the full time whistle neither team had bee able to break the dead lock.

So the nervous fans had to endure another thirty minutes before they knew the fate of their team. And nine minutes into extra time it was Portsmouth who struck first.

Piquionne was in the right place at the right time as he put the goal away from close range after a Marc Ilson free kick.

And it looked like Tottenham had hit back almost immediately as Crouch finally found the back of the net. But the Tottenham fan's joy was short lived as the referee disallowed the goal for an apparent foul on James by Niko Kranjcar.

Spurs kept on pushing forward as they could feel their FA Cup chance slipping away but David James stood firm blocking every shot that came his way.

Portsmouth sealed the win with just minutes to go as Dindane was brought down in the penalty area. Boareng converted from the penalty spot and Portsmouth had completed an infamous win.