Arsenal 1 Pompey 0
It was the moment which encapsulated Tony Adams' Pompey reign.
Deserting his dugout post, the Blues boss ventured forward to return a ball which had lurched out of play during the second half.
The former Arsenal legend made a connection all right, it's just that he stubbed his toe on the ground in the process.
With a shrug of the shoulders, he gingerly made his way back to the comfort of his seat.
Once again the best of intentions – once again rudely interrupted by bad luck.
It was the same old story on the pitch in Arsenal's magnificent arena as Pompey rallied themselves impressively.
They journeyed to the Emirates burdened by three successive defeats and a number of substandard performances.
The West Ham outing on Boxing Day had resulted in the fans turning for the first time during Adams' tenure.
On that occasion, a 4-1 Fratton Park defeat ensured the hosts were booed off come the final whistle.
Even the most positive of thinkers were expecting an Arsenal walloping next up – it proved to be wrong, very, very wrong.
Had it not been for the intervention of misfortune, the Blues could well have departed north London with three points, let alone a draw.
As it was, David James' costly miscalculation nine minutes from time settled a tight contest and made it defeat number four on the trot.
Undeserved, unwarranted, and another chapter in the bad luck story which continues to hound Adams.
Newcastle and Bolton excepted, it's hard to argue against the fact he's been blighted by more than his fare share of ill fortune.
This was no run of the mill Gunners triumph, ask any of the 59,000 or so home fans who squirmed with discomfort in their seats over the action which unfolded.
The frustration was tangible from the off, while their long periods of moody silence revealed a genuine unhappiness over the display.
If Highbury was a library, yesterday the Emirates was simply a vacuum.
Only Pompey fans punctuated the tense atmosphere, themselves buoyed by unquestionably the best defensive display during Adams' time at the helm.
Perhaps Liverpool away ran it close, incidentally the only other occasion he has employed one up front.
On that occasion, the Blues also lost 1-0 to a goal deep in the second half, Papa Bouba Diop gifting Rafa Benitez's men a penalty.
Yesterday, however, was a true throwback to the defensive might of last season, a glimpse of how good they really can be.
Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin were at their fabulous best, comfortably dealing with Nicklas Bendtner and Emmanuel Adebayor.
The backbone of last season's successes have received growing criticism in the past few weeks and months but against the Gunners they were twin towers of domination.
Shielding them was Sean Davis, the man awaiting to discover if he has a Blues future but playing as if his entire football career depended on it.
Others may have allowed their form to dip in recent times in the light of speculation that rival Premier League clubs are poised to step in.
Not Davis, though, who once again reminded us all why the question of his staying is a no-brainer.
The 29-year-old consistently shows considerably more heart than some of his team-mates whose slump has coincided with Pompey's very own declining fortunes.
Not that you could fault the contribution of any of the starting XI yesterday, Adams' reshuffled team producing a performance of true guts.
To think some believe he has already lost the players. Not a chance on yesterday's showing.
The ex-England skipper rocked up at his former club with Peter Crouch as a lone striker, relegating the out-of-sorts Jermain Defoe to the bench.
He also opted to grant David Nugent his first start of the season, albeit on the right-hand side of midfield.
Adams' selection policy and tactical decisions have attracted their doubters following previous defeats.
No question the collective eyebrows were raised once again over this one before the game.
Nonetheless, it did the job superbly.
Not that we should be surprised, after all, it's a system Adams previously adopted for his very first official outing as Blues boss, away at Liverpool.
That too was impressive, even if that also produced a 1-0 defeat.
Yet the scoreline could have been reversed had bad luck not eluded both he and Crouch on 24 minutes.
The impressive Marc Wilson swung in a deep cross from the right, Crouch rose highest and sent a header crashing against the right-hand post.
To add to the agony, as the ball bounced back across goal, the England striker was already hurtling past and into the net.
It was to prove comfortably the closest either side came to netting before the Gunners' winner.
Arsenal had their golden chance on 32 minutes when Bacary Sagna sent Emmanuel Adebayor racing purposely through on goal.
Campbell's last-ditch lunge firstly nudged the ball away and then the covering Distin came across to hack clear for a corner.
It was a remarkable piece of team-work from the defensive pair when a goal appeared to be nothing short of a certainty.
Come the second half, Arsene Wenger's men continued to struggle although they were heartened to see James drop Samir Nasri's corner while under no pressure at all in the 47th minute.
On the half-hour mark, the England keeper missed his punch as he attempted to clear Denilson's cross from the right, Adebayor crashing the ball menacingly into the sidenetting.
Third time unlucky on 81 minutes, however, when Diop conceded a foul and Nasri clipped the resulting free-kick into the box.
James missed his punch, the head of William Gallas instead connecting with the ball to send it into the back of the net.
There was still time for Diop to be stretchered off with suspected medial ankle ligament damage.
He faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Yet even more wretched luck in the life of Tony Adams.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Sunday 12 February 2012
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