Source: Daily_Mail
Portsmouth 0 Blackburn 0: Pompey grind out goalless draw ahead of Wembley date
Que sera, sera. Never has the oldWembley chant been moreapplicable than for Portsmouth. [LNB]Whatever will be, will be forPortsmouth, even though WestHam's not winning at Evertonearned them a stay of execution inthe Barclays Premier League.[LNB]It is now all about the FA Cup semi finalagainst Tottenham, for aweek at least, until the focusreturns to preserving the club.[LNB]Double blow: Portsmouth's Anthony Vanden Borre (centre) ruled out for Cup semi-final after being sent off by referee Steve Bennett (right)[LNB]MATCH FACTSPortsmouth (4-1-2-1-2): Ashdown 6; VandenBorre 5, Rocha 6, Mokoena 6, Mullins 5;Basinas 5; Brown 5, Hughes 6 (Sowah 64, 6);O'Hara 7; Kanu 5, Utaka 6 (Piquionne 72, 5).Subs Not Used: O'Brien, Nlundulu, Ward,Ritchie.Sent Off: Vanden Borre (60). [LNB]Booked: Vanden Borre, Brown. [LNB]Blackburn (4-1-4-1): Robinson 6; Salgado 6,Samba 7, Jones 7, Givet 7; Nzonzi 6 (Grella64, 6); Diouf 6 (Hoilett 76), Dunn 6 (Kalinic80), Pedersen 6, Olsson 6; Roberts 5.Subs Not Used: Brown, Emerton, Linganzi,Di Santo. [LNB]Booked: Dunn. [LNB]Attendance: 16,207 [LNB]Referee: Steve Bennett(Kent).[LNB]Man of the Match: Phil Jones.[LNB] [LNB]'It is no secret that after we gotthe nine-point deduction we havebeen concentrating on the FA Cupbecause we want to give thesupporters a great moment,' saidAvram Grant after watching hisside, reduced to 10 men whenAnthony Vanden Borre picked up asecond yellow card for a handball,grind out a goalless draw againstBlackburn. [LNB]'I have been to Wembley before,but to do it with this club is one ofthe biggest achievements of mylife. We have got to Wembley in anice way, playing good football,showing good spirit, so I think wedeserve to be in the semi-final.'[LNB]After a disastrous season, Grantdeserves some of his 11 injuredplayers back for Wembley. But theclub would be bottom in the leagueeven without the points deductionfor going into administration. [LNB]Conversely, Sam Allardyce has hada magnificent season at Blackburn,even if their away form has beenmediocre.[LNB]Close contact: Portsmouth's Aaron Mokoena and Blackburn Rovers's Martin Olsson (right) battle for the ball[LNB] 'I can book my holidaysnow, think about having a nicebreak and about the fact we havesecured Rovers' position in thePremier League,' he said.[LNB]Since he took charge in December2008, Blackburn have lost justthree of 27 home games and areon course for a top-half finish. [LNB] Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp: Ignore the idiots, Portsmouth made a profit out of my transfer dealings!Spurs boss Harry Redknapp faces hot reception on return to Portsmouth Portsmouth 0 Blackburn 0: 10-man Pompey earn stay of execution [LNB] [LNB]
