Source: Team_Talk
Dindane recovery pleases Grant
The South Coast team defeated the Clarets 2-0 at Fratton Park thanks to a Hermann Hreidarsson strike and a late Dindane header.[LNB]Iceland international Hreidarsson fired Grant's men ahead when he latched on to a superb pass from substitute Kanu, before finishing beautifully across Clarets goalkeeper Brian Jensen after 65 minutes.[LNB]Dindane then made the points safe after 83 minutes with a deadly downward header from Jamie O'Hara's precision ball to the back post from the left.[LNB]But the Ivorian international had gone into the dressing room at half-time with boos ringing in his ears, following a disgraceful miss from 12 yards.[LNB]Pompey were handed a soft spot kick by referee Phil Dowd after 31 minutes when Burnley's Wade Elliott was wrongly adjudged to have felled Hreidarsson.[LNB]Dindane stepped up and lackadaisically passed his shot to Jensen's right, allowing the Burnley goalkeeper to save comfortably.[LNB]However, Grant was pleased the striker raised his game after the break and came up trumps with a goal in the closing stages.[LNB]"One thing I try to teach my players is how to be players with character," said Grant.[LNB]"This is most important and you need a short memory in football.[LNB]"You cannot come to half-time crying that you missed a penalty or didn't play so well. You need to see what you can do better and that's what Dindane did.[LNB]"He missed a penalty in the first half and then he worked harder in the second half than he did in the first. He deserved a goal."[LNB]Kevin-Prince Boateng, one of Pompey's top performers throughout the game, has been taking the club's spot kicks in recent weeks.[LNB]But Grant said he did not choose on-loan striker Dindane to take the penalty ahead of the Ghana international.[LNB]He added: "I have never in my life taken a decision about penalties.[LNB]"We have two players who can decide between them and we don't have a penalty shooter here.[LNB]"Dindane missed so we can say 'why not Boateng?' But he missed two weeks ago and I read people saying on the paper 'why not Dindane?'[LNB]"Maybe I'll take the next penalty?"[LNB]Boateng and Dindane have both missed the spot in recent weeks, but Grant has no plans to order his kickers to practise penalties in training.[LNB]The former Chelsea boss, who lost the 2008 Champions League final to Manchester United in Moscow on penalties, added: "I can tell you that the best penalties I've seen taken were by a player who missed in Moscow."[LNB]Meanwhile, Burnley boss Owen Coyle suggested Portsmouth should not been awarded their first-half spot kick.[LNB]But he refused to blame referee Dowd for his side's downfall and said the incident had no effect on the outcome.[LNB]He said: "I was slightly surprised (it was awarded), I've got to say that, but it had absolutely no effect on the game.[LNB]"I'm loathed to criticise officials because if it was a mistake, it was a genuine mistake.[LNB]"That's what happens and it had no bearing on the game.[LNB]"As disappointing as it is to lose the match, there is no blame attached to the officials.[LNB]"We were the architects of our own downfall.[LNB]"I'd like to think I'm honest in my assessment of matches and if we had taken our chances, we would have won the game.[LNB]"But we didn't and we paid a heavy price - it's as simple as that."[LNB][LNB]
