- Kanu (78)
- Date:2009-04-18
- Kick-off:15:00
- Venue:Fratton Park
- Attendance:20158
- Referee:Dowd, P
Live Commentary
90mins
Full time: PORTSMOUTH 1-0 BOLTON.
89mins
The fourth official has signalled four extra minutes and Bolton have thrown Gary Cahill up front as well as they look for the equaliser.
88mins
Younes Kaboul is replaced by Jermaine Pennant for Portsmouth.
87mins
Pompey quick on the break yet again, Belhadj's shot has just gone inches wide of the Bolton goal.
86mins
Bolton win a free kick 30-yards out, Matt Taylor steps up to take it but his effort goes well wide of the Pompey goal.
84mins
With just five minutes left Bolton need to get forward, they're trying but Pompey are dealing with them well at the moment.
82mins
Peter Crouch tries an audacious overhead kick but his effort is wide of the target.
80mins
Bolton get a chance to level things up with a corner of their own but Pompey clear.
78mins
PORTSMOUTH 1-0 BOLTON: Belhadj makes an immediate impact, his corner is a good one and KANU forces the ball home.
78mins
Niko Kranjcar doesn't get up after that challenge by McCann and is replaced by Nadir Belhadj
75mins
Gavin McCann (Bolton) booked for a challenge on Niko Kranjcar.
72mins
Bolton perhaps having the better of things at the moment but without creating any clear cut chances.
70mins
Nwankwo Kanu replaces David Nugent for Portsmouth.
69mins
Pompey corner after good work from Kaboul, Sean Davies steps up to take it but the referee awards Bolton a free kick after Crouch is judged to have fouled Jaaskelainen.
67mins
The game seems to have gone a bit scrappy in the last few minutes, Pompey still looking the more dangerous of the sides but they're not managing to get through Bolton's defence.
65mins
Taylor's free kick is low and powerful across goal but no one can get a touch on it to divert it goalwards.
65mins
Sylvain Distin (Portsmouth) is given a yellow card for a foul on Elmander giving Bolton a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area.
62mins
A good cross from Kranjcar is well cleared by Gavin McCann who manages to get his head to it.
61mins
Strange one this, Nicky Hunt has been booked by referee Phil Dowd but Hunt isn't even on the field - he was warming up at the side of the pitch.
60mins
McCann's corner comes to nothing.
60mins
Andy O'Brien hits a long free kick into the Pompey penalty area which produces a corner for Bolton.
57mins
McCann curls a cross into the Portsmouth penalty area but Pompey clear.
54mins
Bolton throw in adjacent to the Pompey penalty area, Samuel throws it long but Campbell clears for Portsmouth.
52mins
Portsmouth win a free kick about 30-yards out but Kranjcar's delivery is poor and Bolton clear.
50mins
The second half has started at quite a pace but the game is still goal less, Pompey look the more likely of the two sides at the moment.
48mins
Pompey corner which is taken by Sean Davies, Crouch jumps highest to meet the cross but his headed shot goes way over the Bolton cross bar.
47mins
Samuel hits a cross into the Pompey penalty area but James comes out of his goal and claims the ball.
46mins
Portsmouth get the second half underway.
45mins
Andy O'Brien earns a caution.
45mins
Half Time: PORTSMOUTH 0-0 BOLTON
45mins
Pompey win two corners in succession but Sean Davies' shot is just wide, Nugent tries another shot from range but it falls just wide.
44mins
Mullins tries a shot from range for Pompey but it is well wide of the Bolton goal.
43mins
The pace has gone out of the game somewhat now, perhaps both teams will be happy to go into the break on level terms.
39mins
Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth) is booked after a clash with Gavin McCann.
38mins
Bolton corner but David James confidently deals with Taylor's ball in.
36mins
Great chance for Portsmouth but Glen Johnson is denied by the post. Johnson is the danger man for Pompey today and I think Jaaskelainen got the slightest of touches on that shot.
31mins
Kevin Davies (Bolton) receives the first yellow card of the day.
30mins
This tie is heating up a bit now, a hopeful long ball from Cahill finds Davies who flicks the ball to Elmander, Elmander's shot is well saved by James.
29mins
A lightning break from Portsmouth, Kranjcar intercepts a sloppy pass from A O'Brien and sets up Johnson who produces another great shot from Jaaskelainen.
28mins
Portsmouth dominated the early stages but Bolton are getting into this tie now.
26mins
Glen Johnson smashes a wicked shot from distance which produces a great save from Jaaskelainen, then Elmander nearly gets through on goal after a quick Bolton break.
24mins
Bolton corner taken by Gavin McCann but James punches the ball clear for the home side.
23mins
Bolton win a free kick which Taylor swings into the Pompey box but the ball comes off a Bolton player and rolls harmlessly out for a goal kick.
20mins
Glen Johnson tries an ambitious effort from at least 40-yards out, Jaaskelainen is off his line but Johnson's shot is off target.
17mins
Pompey win a dubious free-kick after Taylor is adjudged to have handled. Kranjcar attempts a cross but the ball is cleared as far as Johnson who shoots over the Bolton bar.
17mins
A good cross from Kranjcar is punched clear by Jaaskelainen.
16mins
Nice work from Davies and McCann for Bolton but McCann's cross is too close to David James who gathers easily in the Pompey goal.
13mins
This is the best I've seen Portsmouth play in a while, Glen Johnson is doing some good work on the right hand side of midfield and he has hit some good crosses into the Bolton box today.
12mins
Ricardo Gardner replaced by Fabrice Muamba for Bolton due to injury.
10mins
Ricardo Gardner has had to go off the pitch injured after a fairly innocuous challenge, I don't think he'll be ok to continue and we might see a substitution soon.
8mins
Quite a lot of Portsmouth pressure at the moment, Crouch and Nugent both had half chances but Bolton are defending well.
6mins
Peter Crouch attempts an acrobatic effort inside the Bolton box after some good work from Kaboul but Andy O'Brien gets the block in and Jaaskelainen gathers in the Bolton goal.
5mins
Matt Taylor hits a shot from range for Bolton but his effort is well wide of the Pompey goal.
3mins
Steinsson sends a sweet cross into the Pompey penalty area but it just evades the head of former Portsmouth midfielder Matt Taylor.
2mins
Hayden Mullins hits the first shot of the afternoon but his effort from range is high and wide.
1mins
David James gets his first touch in the Pompey goal as Matt Taylor's pass is too long for Johan Elmander.
1mins
The game is underway at Fratton Park.
0mins
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, A O'Brien, Cahill, Samuel, Basham, McCann, Gardner, K Davies, Elmander, Taylor. Subs: Al Habsi, Hunt, Muamba, Smolarek, Puygrenier, Makukula, Cohen.
0mins
Portsmouth: James, Kaboul, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Johnson, Davis, Mullins, Nugent, Kranjcar, Crouch. Subs: Begovic, Pennant, Pamarot, Utaka, Hughes, Kanu, Belhadj.
Match Preview
Portsmouth's Premier League status continues to hang in the balance as they prepare to host Bolton Wanderers at Fratton Park.
The south coast club are just four points clear of the drop zone following back-to-back draws with Hull City and West Bromwich Albion and can scarcely afford to take their eye off the ball.
Last weekend's 2-2 stalemate against the rock-bottom Baggies and on home soil was a particular disappointment, but caretaker manager Paul Hart has defended his side's cautious approach to recent games.
"My job is to get us across the line," he said. "We've lost one in seven. Prior to that we took two points from nine games and that's why we're in this situation.
"We have to maintain our focus and be hard to beat. We need points from anywhere and we're getting them. There are a lot of others wishing they were getting them."
Pompey will again be without central midfielders Papa Bouba Diop and Sean Davis with serious knee injuries, while Jerome Thomas remains on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.
Bolton Wanderers appear to have no such relegation fears as, despite not being mathematically safe from the drop, only an amazing sequence of results would result in them bowing out of the top-flight.
Prior to last weekend's 4-3 defeat at Chelsea when they fought back from four down to set up a grandstand finish, Gary Megson's side had equalled last season's final points total of 37 which was good enough to keep them up.
One more victory from their six remaining games would therefore confirm their top-flight status for another season, but striker Kevin Davies has set his sights higher and is keen to break into the top ten.
He said: "We still feel that there's work to do and we're targeting that top ten. We've now scored seven goals in two games and, if we can take those performances down to Portsmouth, then we'll go down there and get a result."
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Match Report
FA Cup Final hero Kanu came off the bench to score his first Premier League goal of the season 12 minutes from time and move Portsmouth a giant step closer to securing their top-flight status.
Kanu, who netted the winner in Pompey's Wembley triumph over Cardiff City last May, bundled Nadir Belhadj's corner over the line after an uncharacteristic mistake by Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, who flapped at the Algerian's delivery.
The goal was harsh on Jaaskelainen, whose otherwise brilliant display looked like denying Portsmouth the win they desperately need to pull clear of the bottom three.
Glen Johnson signalled Pompey's intent in the 28th minute by bursting through the Bolton defence and unleashing a fiercely struck shot from just inside the penalty area, which Jaaskelainen did well to beat away.
Johnson was at the heart of the action throughout the first half and should have scored on the half-hour when he was played through one-on-one with Jaaskelainen after Niko Kranjcar has broken down the left only to shoot straight into the Finn's arms.
Bolton would have taken the lead against the run of play a minute later but for a brilliant diving save by Pompey goalkeeper David James as he kept out Johan Elmander's low strike.
Jaaskelainen thwarted Johnson again nine minutes before half-time with a magnificent fingertip stop as he turned the England defender's angled right-foot shot onto the post.
David Nugent almost gave Portsmouth the lead in first-half stoppage time when his curling long-range effort brushed the outside of Jaaskelainen's right-hand upright.
Portsmouth began the second half in the same vein they ended the first, with Younes Kaboul heading over from Sean Davis' corner.
There was a strange incident on the hour when the referee brandished a bizarre yellow card at Bolton substitute Nicky Hunt for getting too close to the pitch during his warm-up.
Portsmouth's survival hopes looked to have suffered a major blow on 77 minutes when Kranjcar was carried off on a stretcher after being left rolling in agony following a late tackle by Grant McCann.
But the Croatian's replacement, Belhadj, promptly set up the winning goal with his first touch.
Portsmouth Team
Bolton Wanderers Team
Portsmouth | Bolton Wanderers |
Corners
| 6 | 5 |
Fouls
| 11 | 14 |
Goal attempts
| 21 | 5 |
Shots off target
| 10 | 4 |
Offsides
| 2 | 3 |



90mins
Glen Johnson again tests Jaaskelainen but the Bolton keeper is equal to the challenge and makes the save.