Pompey 1 Bolton 0
Steve Wilson with the action as it happened at Fratton Park.
POMPEY 1 BOLTON 0
Pompey: James, Kaboul, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Johnson, Davis, Mullins, Nugent, Kranjcar, Crouch.
Subs: Begovic, Pennant, Pamarot, Utaka, Hughes, Kanu, Belhadj.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Andrew O'Brien, Cahill, Samuel, Basham, McCann, Gardner, Kevin Davies, Elmander, Taylor.
Subs: Al Habsi, Hunt, Muamba, Smolarek, Puygrenier, Makukula, Cohen.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)
Pompey boss Paul Hart made two changes to the side who could only draw 2-2 with West Brom last weekend.
Back came Glen Johnson after his one-match ban and Sean Davis returned to the midfield after recovering from a gashed knee.
That saw Jermaine Pennant and Richard Hughes dropped to the bench, but Hart kept faith with the 4-5-1 formation once again, despite the growing calls for a more attacking set-up.
Younes Kaboul, who has been in tremendous form lately, kept his place at right-back with Johnson restored to the right-hand side of a five-man midfield.
Bolton, meanwhile, made two changes to the side who lost 4-3 at Chelsea last week.
Chris Basham and former Blues defender Andy O'Brien were drafted in, while fellow former Pompey star Matt Taylor was in the Bolton ranks.
Pompey made a confident start to the game in the first couple of minutes with good possession.
It was Hayden Mullins who had the first crack at goal, but his volley from the edge of the box sailed over the crossbar.
But the Blues looked in positive form with the Fratton Park crowd serving up a good atmosphere as Pompey went looking for the early goal.
Bolton looked decidedly nervy at the back as Pompey enjoyed the better of the opening phase.
And the Trotters' hopes were dealt an early blow when Ricardo Gardner appeared to pull a hamstring inside the first 10 minutes and was carried off.
That meant Fabrice Muamba was thrown on with Bolton boss Gary Megson shuffling the pack to re-organise.
As Pompey attempted to turn up the heat, Bolton were thankful to O'Brien for making a crucial clearing header under pressure from Peter Crouch as the Pompey striker lined up a far-post header.
Referee Phil Dowd had to step into cool things down between Kevin Davies and Hermann Hreidarsson after the former Saints striker caught the Blues defender with a late tackle.
Both players escaped with a warning and Davies was greeted with the usual chants reserved for former Southampton players.
But as Pompey continued to push, Johnson had a decent shooting opportunity as he cut in from the right flank in a position similar to his stunner against Hull earlier this season.
This time, though, he was unable to hit the target and the effort was screwed well wide of goal.
Johnson went closest to breaking the early deadlock after a swashbuckling run from the halfway line and a fizzing shot that Jussi Jaaskelainen did well to parry.
Having raced at the heart of the defence, the England star's fierce right-footer was destined for the far corner, but the Bolton keeper made a decent stop to keep things level.
Having gone close already, Johnson was again denied just a couple of minutes later after Niko Kranjcar seized on O'Brien's sloppy pass.
The Croatian picked up possession on the left flank, fed the marauding Johnson as he joined the attack, but his sidefoot effort was easily palmed away by Jaaskelainen.
Bolton had created little up until that point, but gave an indication of their danger on the break as Johann Elmander's low shot forced an excellent stop at his near post by David James with the striker having latched on to a long ball over the top.
After Davies was booked for a blatant bodycheck on Hreidarsson, Pompey so nearly had the lead eight minutes before the break as Johnson's effort smashed back off the outside of the post.
With Kranjcar flicking on, Johnson found space in the area and although his angled striker beat the keeper, the frame of the goal saved Bolton.
Kranjcar was the next name in the book as he dragged back Gavin McCann to stop a counter-attack, but it was Pompey again doing the majority of the attacking as half-time approached.
O'Brien was shown a yellow card for hauling down David Nugent and the Pompey man so nearly broke the deadlock deep into stoppage time as his curling effort from the edge of the box grazed the far post with the goalkeeper beaten.
Half-time
Pompey 0 Bolton 0
Pompey continued in a similar vein and made the early running in the second period as Kaboul headed over from a corner and Nugent went close after a marvellous cross from Kranjcar.
Although the Croatian's centre was inviting, Nugent could not get enough power on the header as Greitar Steinson just did enough to put him off and Jaaskelainen fielded the effort easily.
Kranjcar was becoming more and more influential as the game wore on and looked the man most likely to unlock a disciplined Bolton rearguard.
Jaaskelainen was tested again at his near post as Kranjcar cut inside McCann, but his low shot from 25 yards never carried enough pace to beat the goalkeeper.
There was a bizarre incident on the hour mark as Bolton substitute Nicky Hunt was booked by referee Phil Dowd as he warmed up.
It appeared the referee did not take kindly to Hunt dishing out instructions to Steinson as he prepared to take a throw-in – and the sub saw yellow.
The next booking was rather more orthodox as Sylvain Distin was harshly adjudged to have blocked off Elmander, and the extravagant fall conned Dowd into issuing another yellow.
With the game entering the final 20 minutes, Hart went for an attacking substitution to chase a vital three points.
Nugent was sacrificed, Kanu joined Crouch up front and Kranjcar moved to the left flank as Pompey went to 4-4-2 in search of a goal.
But there appeared to be a major blow as Kranjcar looked like he suffered a serious ankle injury when he was caught by McCann on the edge of his own box.
With physios and medical staff seeing to the Blues midfielder, the game was held up for several minutes until Kranjcar was taken off on a stretcher with his leg in a brace.
That saw the introduction of Nadir Belhadj for the final 13 minutes of the game and his first real contribution saw the Algerian whip in a corner to set up the vital opener.
As he swung a pacy set-piece over, Kanu got the slightest of touches to beat Jaaskelainen at the keeper's near post.
Pompey fans celebrated with a rendition of 'We are staying up'.
With nerves starting to seep into Pompey's play as they got closer to a vital win, Crouch almost cracked in second with a trademark overhead kick following Belhadj's searing break from his own penalty area.
Taylor – who was quiet on his return to Fratton Park – ensured a few Pompey fans' hearts were in their mouths with just three minutes left on the clock as he lined up a 30-yard free-kick.
But although it was a good central position, Taylor sliced it high and wide and James watched it sail harmlessly over.
Another fabulous break from Belhadj so nearly sealed it as he went one-on-one towards goal with another burst from deep, but his right-foot drive just flew over the top corner.
As the game ticked into six minutes of stoppage time, Pompey were forced into another change as Jermaine Pennant replaced the outstanding Kaboul for the final few minutes.
Jaaskelainen was twice forced into more action, first to deny Kanu as the Nigerian bore down on goal and moments later Johnson's long-range blast forced the overworked Bolton keeper into another flying stop.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 26 May 2012
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