Portsmouth 3 - 2 Blackburn Rovers

Pompey avoid another late collapse

Updated: November 30, 2008, 5:23 PM UK

Sean Davis was the unlikely hero of Portsmouth's first home win under new boss Tony Adams after another two-goal give-away against Blackburn gave Fratton Park a fright.

• Ince conducts crisis talks

On Thursday, Pompey blew a 2-0 lead against Italian giants AC Milan and had already surrendered vital Premier League points under Adams with late collapses from winning positions.

It looked like more of the same when brilliant strikes by Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe had Pompey skating ahead again eight minutes after the break but Matt Derbyshire dragged one back with a simple header after replacing Benni McCarthy 30 seconds earlier in the 62nd minute.

Tugay, the brilliant Turkish veteran, rifled Rovers level with Pompey ball-watching again four minutes later.

This time, though, Pompey were still up for finishing the job. It took a cool finish by substitute Davis - on two minutes earlier for Armand Traore - after Paul Robinson beat out Papa Bouba Diop's shot for his first goal since March 2006.

With Bolton, Wigan and Fulham picking up points on Saturday, Pompey - still without skipper Sol Campbell and with Niko Kranjcar only on the bench - had slipped from eighth to 11th in the table.

Pompey had an outstanding chance to go ahead in the fourth minute. Glen Johnson, fed by Crouch, chipped a lovely ball into the box for Glen Little but the winger put a poor left-footed shot straight at the advancing Robinson.

Four minutes later it was Pompey's turn to have a narrow escape when Crouch almost scored an own-goal, glancing a Brett Emerton corner across his own goalmouth with the ball appearing to brush the far post before going out.

Rovers had another chance in the 12th minute when Stephen Warnock was allowed time to get in a shot from 12 yards after Morten Gamst Pedersen crossed from the left but his effort was high and wide.

Eight minutes later Roque Santa Cruz drilled a low drive across goal and just past the far post when McCarthy outwitted Noe Pamarot to slip the ball through.

For a sustained spell Rovers held sway and the home crowd were waiting in trepidation for the next Pompey wobble at the back.

But suddenly it was Chris Samba who made the error for Blackburn and Crouch pounced to send Defoe away only for the returning striker to slip and lose his footing at the edge of the area.

Pompey were in charge again and Crouch should have done better with a far-post header which he put over the top from Traore's perfect cross from the left.

But the England striker's aim was firm and true four minutes after the break when Johnson reprised the double delivery he employed to bring both Pompey's goals in midweek against Milan.

Unlike Little, who had been replaced by Niko Kranjcar at half-time, Crouch did not spurn this latest opportunity afforded by Johnson's accuracy and headed past the helpless Robinson with Rovers' defenders asking who was supposed to be marking him.

And it looked all over when four minutes later Defoe shrugged off two challenges on the edge of the area and ran past former Tottenham team-mate Robinson to make it 2-0 and join partner Crouch on eight goals for the season.

But then it all started to unravel again for Pompey.

Out of nowhere Derbyshire headed Pedersen's bouncing cross from the left over David James in the 62nd minute.

And as Portsmouth panicked and their defenders backed off, Tugay struck a daisy-cutting 25-yarder into the England goalkeeper's bottom right-hand corner.

On came Kanu for Crouch to try to turn the tide again for Portsmouth and Johnson landed an outrageous shot from just inside his own half on the roof of the net - with Robinson hurriedly back-pedalling.

There was then a controversial moment when Derbyshire had a 'goal' disallowed for what referee Mark Halsey saw as a foul on James.

So when Davis came up with the winner it was a major surprise on several counts - and, for Adams, a major relief.

Ince conducts crisis talks

Furious Paul Ince kept his Blackburn players back in the dressing room for nearly an hour after a 3-2 defeat at Portsmouth before emerging to admit: "I'm frustrated, disappointed.''

Ince, who felt referee Mark Halsey made a "poor decision'' when ruling a foul on Pompey goalkeeper David James as Matt Derbyshire netted at 2-2 14 minutes from the end, insisted: "There's nothing wrong with the spirit here. You can ask the players. I don't have to speak for them.

"And I'm not feeling any pressure. When you have four kids and live on your own with mouths to feed that is pressure - but you've got to enjoy being a Premier League manager.''

Ince said: "We were by far the better side in the first half but we missed three good chances. Peter Crouch missed one for them with a header just before half-time but we didn't learn from that and let him have the same space to score their first goal.

"If you are asking about spirit I think we showed plenty of that coming back from 2-0 down. Matt Derbyshire got a brave header when he came on and after Tugay got the equaliser it looked like only one team was going to win it. We are playing well but not getting results and I'm tired of saying that week after week.

"Again we forgot you have to keep the door shut at the back - and not only at the back but the whole team defensively. To see Diop ghosting past three of my players like that (to set up the winner) was, well, ridiculous.''

Portsmouth boss Tony Adams, whose team moved back up to eighth place, celebrated his first home win as manager but admitted: "We've still got some defensive things to work on.''

He had seen his side give away a two-goal lead against AC Milan in midweek in the UEFA Cup and spurn earlier advantages - and lost points - against Hull and Fulham.

He said: "We're going through a little phase of surrendering things. This time we knocked off from a throw-in. But at least we had the spirit to come back and win it - and on this occasion, a bit more time. I'm delighted with them again. It's a relief to get the win.''

Adams admitted: "We were not very good in the first half. You can hear from my voice that I had to get into the guys a bit at half-time. But for 15-20 minutes at the start of the second half I thought it was back to the way we played against Milan.

"Crouchie and Jay (Jermain Defoe) got really good goals but after you have gone 2-0 up it can be a big test when suddenly you let one in. The 'keeper (David James) has gone mad about letting it slip but we've come back and won it and done the right things in the end.

"I sent Sean Davis on because I needed fresh legs but it's a big credit to big Papa who I thought was running out of steam, that he could still make that kind of run that led to the winning goal.''