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  • Richardson (33), Richardson (44)
  • Date:2008-01-13
  • Kick-off:13:30
  • Venue:Stadium of Light
  • Attendance:37369
  • Referee:Foy, C

Live Commentary

90mins

Sunderland take all three valuable points against a dissapointing Portsmouth side who never really threatened late on after Richardson did all the damage in the first half.

90mins

Sylvain Distin comes off and blows a kiss to the Sunderland faithful for some bizarre reason as he is replaced by Djimi Traore

90mins

Redknapp looks resigned to defeat on the Pompey bench as Sunderland just try and see out the last two minutes.

90mins

The fourth official indicates their will be four minutes of added on time much to the annoyance of the Sunderland faithful.

88mins

Another yellow card for Sunderland as Yorke catches Hughes as he just turns the former Manchester United striker.

85mins

Mendes floats in a freekick which McShane fails to deal with as he heads it straight up in the air before Gordon is forced to punch it away.

82mins

Kenwyne Jones comes off after having spent the last ten minutes limping up and down the field but has done an excellent job this afternoon. Roy O'Donovan is his replacement.

79mins

Richardson tries to tackle Campbell from behind with a slide tackle but doesn't manage to pull it off and instead crashes into the back of the defender, earning him a yellow card.

77mins

Miller fires in a low freekick which Pamarot seemingly turns behind with his out-stretched leg but ChrisFoy gives the goal kick, odd decision by the referee.

76mins

Jonny Evans is forced off through injury and he is replaced by Paul McShane.

72mins

Anthony Stokes comes off to be replaced by Grant Leadbitter

70mins

Danny Collins gets himself a booking after crashing it Songo'o who had just knocked the ball past the Welsh defender.

69mins

Mendes floats in another corner from the left, sending it towards the near post where Jones can't quite clear it away but does well to block up Campbell's follow-up effort, who tried to sweep it in but can't get it past Jones.

68mins

Jones does well again to hold up the ball and lay it on for the on rushing Stokes who takes a touch before firingit low towards goal, forcing James into an easy save.

67mins

Mendes swings in a corner for Pompey which is meet bythe head of Yorke who powers it away from the Sunderland goal.

64mins

Portsmouth make the first change of the game with Arnold Mvuemba coming off and Franck Songo'o making an appearance.

64mins

Miller swings in a corner towards the near post which Jones manages to flick on but can only send it over the bar and onto the roof of the net.

63mins

Miguel Pedro Mendes is the first name in the book after a late tackle on Murphy.

59mins

Murphy finally finds a man with a cross, picking out Jones who gets above Distin and nodding it just wide of the goal.

58mins

End-to-end stuff now with Richardson cannoning the ball off the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area which would have all but made certain of the points for Sunderland.

57mins

Benjani springs the offside trap and sprints away towards goal but instead of taking the shot Gordon forces him to sqaure the ball for Nugent but its very well cut out by Nosworthy who saved his side from a certain goal.

57mins

Portsmouth create a couple of half chances with Nugent failing to capitalising on the cross before Hughes badly scuffs his shot and Mendes follow-up is blocked by a wall of red and white shirts.

54mins

Campbell tries to play a deep cross towards Benjani at the far post but the striker gets underneath the ball and can only head it up and over the bar.

53mins

Hreidarsson floats in a cross towards Benjani in the penalty area but its over the head of Pompey's top goalscorer and Mvuemba can't keep it in play.

50mins

Murphy crosses in from the right again but its another poor one, this time the ball floats over everyone and goes out of play for a freekick.

48mins

Jones does well to keep the ball from the attentions of Disin before laying the ball to Richardson whose strikes the ball on the run but can only drive it over the bar with James looking beaten.

46mins

Murphy gets himself wide and tries to float in a cross towards te near post but its easily dealt with by Pamarot who heads it away.

45mins

Portsmouth get the second half underway knowing that its going to take a huge effort to get anything out of this game.

45mins

Sunderland go in at the break with the lea thanks to two great bits of work from Kieran Richardson, taking advantage of a tired looking Pompey side who are badly missing the players who have gone to the African Cup of Nations.

45mins

Richardson doubles Sunderland's lead after a great through ball from Stokes cut out Hreidarsson leaving Richardson to streak away towards goal, cut in from the left and sliding it past James with his weaker right foot.

42mins

Krancar takes the corner from the left which Whitehead nods away only as far as Mendes who strikes it first time on the volley but can only smash it high into the crowd behind the goal.

39mins

Miller clips in a corner towards the near post, looking for a red and white shirt but James is quick to come off his line and catch

36mins

Richardson takes a quick corner with the ball coming to Miller, the midfielder driving the ball towards goal from a tight angle and just sending it inches over the bar.

35mins

Kranjcar drives in a freekick towards the near post looking for Benjani but Gordon does well to come off his line and claim the ball.

33mins

Richardson opens the scoring after Jones kept in the ball after the Pompey defence thought the ball had gone out, Jones laying it to to Richardson toward who fired a low, powerful drive past James from iniside the box.

30mins

Distin makes another mistake which allows Murphy to streak away towards goal, Distin getting back and forcing Murphy to toe poke the shot which beats James but just rolls wide of the left hand post.

29mins

Kranjcar tries to pick out Nugent with the cross but the England striker is beaten to the cross by Nosworthy who just nods it to Yorke as Sunderland survive another Pompey attack.

27mins

Stokes tries to fizz in a free kick towards the penalty area but its a poor attempt with Benjani heading it away on the edge of the penalty area.

26mins

Miller chips in a corner from the right and finds Evans who gets away from his marker but can't direct the ball anyway but over the bar.

20mins

Kenwyne Jones goes down inside the penalty area after a tangle with Pamarot but referee Chris Foy shows no interest as Portsmouth get the goal kick.

17mins

Murphy fires in a cross on the half volley which finds the run of Stokes at the near post but he gets too much on the header, crashing it wide of the target.

15mins

Kranjcar takes the resulting corner which is headed away by Nosworthy back out to the waiting Mendes, but his cross is dealt with by another Sunderland header.

15mins

Mvuemba capitalises on some bad Sunderland passing to cut the ball back to Kranjcar whose shot forces Grodon into a great save,pushing it around the post for a Pompey corner.

10mins

Stokes tries to fire in a cross from the left which is just to high for everyone and goes out of play on the far side of the field.

8mins

Kranjcar floats in a freekick which Hreidarsson flicks on for Benjani waiting at the far post who from four yards out volleys the ball wide of goal when it would have been easier to score, great chance.

6mins

Distin fails to clear the ball and Whitehead picks up on the mistake but can't put the power on the shot it requires, the ball deflecting wide which James has to scramble to recover.

5mins

Stokes picks up the ball just outside the box and strikes it towards goal but its easily saved by James who catches it with ease.

4mins

Sunderland controlling much of the opening five minutes with some nice attacking moves but failing to cut through the Portsmouth defence.

2mins

Richardson swings in an early corner for Sunderland towards the near post but its easily dealt with by Benjani who heads it back to the former Man Utd winger who miss-kicks the ball and Portsmouth can clear their lines.

0mins

Sunderland will be hoping to bounce back from their FA Cup humiliation against Wigan last week while Pompey fans will just be happy that this isn't Harry Redknapp's last game in charge, Todays referee Chris Foy gets the game underway.

0mins

Portsmouth XI: James, Pamarot, Distin, Campbell, Hreidarsson, Nugent, Mvuemba, Pedro Mendes, Hughes, Kranjcar, Mwaruwari

0mins

Portsmouth are without Sulley Muntari, Kanu, John Utaka and Papa Bouba Diop who are all away at the African Cup of Nations while Glen Johnson failed a late fitness test on his hamstring and Sean Davis misses out with a foot injury.

0mins

Sunderland XI: Gordon, Whitehead, Nosworthy, Evans, Collins, Stokes, Miller, Yorke, Richardson, Jones, Murphy

0mins

Sunderland welcome back Dwight Yorke from suspension along with Kenwyne Jones who had to pass a late fitness test to be included in the team. But the Black Cats are without Dickson Etuhu who is at the African Cup of Nations.

Match Preview

Sunderland manager Roy Keane will be hoping to capitalise on weakened opposition on Sunday as his Portsmouth counterpart Harry Redknapp attempts to cope without five African stars.

Papa Bouba Diop, Kanu, John Utaka, Sulley Muntari and Lauren will all be representing their countries at the African Cup of Nations which starts in Ghana on January 20 - with the final taking place three weeks later on February 10.

Keane will be without Dickson Etuhu as the midfielder has been called into the Nigeria squad by coach Berti Vogts, but has comparatively few worries with Carlos Edwards (broken leg) his only other definite absentee.

Michael Chopra is a doubt with an ankle injury as the Black Cats attempt to erase the memory of last weekend's dire display in the 3-0 FA Cup third round defeat to Wigan Athletic at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland have tended to save their best form for games on Wearside this season though, with impressive victories against Tottenham, Bolton and Reading doing much to improve their chances of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship.

Pompey's form has been mixed recently, although they continue to produce their best performances on the road.

Their 2-0 win at Reading on New Year's Day ended a poor run of only one point from four Premier League games and they followed up their Madejski Stadium success with a hard-fought FA Cup third round victory at Ipswich Town.

As well as the five players on African Cup of Nations duty, Portsmouth are also currently without long-term injury victims Linvoy Primus (knee) and Martin Cranie (broken leg), while Sean Davis is a doubt with an ankle problem.

Redknapp's side are searching for their tenth win of the season and eighth on their travels while the Black Cats, without an away success in 11 attempts, are looking for only their fifth victory of the campaign.


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Match Report

A Kieran Richardson double saw Sunderland cruise to a valuable 2-0 win over Portsmouth at the Stadium of Light.

The former Manchester United man put the finishing touches to two well-worked moves as the Black Cats earned three deserved points.

Sunderland boss Roy Keane made his intentions clear from the outset, adopting an attacking formation with target man Kenwyne Jones flanked on either side by Daryl Murphy and Anthony Stokes.

Jones was a selfless runner for the Sunderland cause and gave England centre-back Sol Campbell a torrid afternoon.

It was the home side who started the brighter of the two teams, Stokes firing at Pompey keeper David James with just five minutes on the clock.

The Wearsiders, though, rode their luck three minutes later when Benjani fired wide from inside the area when he looked certain to score.

And the visitors went close again on 16 minutes when Craig Gordon was forced to save from David Nugent, after Dwight Yorke had given away possession on the edge of the area.

But the hosts were back on the front foot on 18 minutes, Murphy crossing in with pace and Stokes getting in ahead of the Portsmouth defence, but only to head wide of the target.

Murphy then went close himself on the half-hour mark, firing narrowly wide from the left-hand side of the 18-yard box.

Three minutes later the Black Cats were rewarded for their attacking endeavour, as a long ball from centre-half Jonny Evans was chased down by Jones.

The Trinidad & Tobago star refused to give up the ghost unlike his marker, Campbell, who appeared to stop and the Sunderland striker pulled the ball back from the byline to find Richardson.

The midfielder held off Pedro Mendes before firing across James from the left-hand side of the box to put his side 1-0 up.

The home side continued to push on and doubled their advantage just before half-time.

Liam Miller chipped the ball forward for Murphy who ran at the Pompey defence. The Sunderland striker seemed to get the ball stuck under his feet, but Richardson was there to pick up the pieces and went past Herman Hreidarsson before firing into the net, this time from the right side of the area.

Keane will have been the happier of the two managers at half-time and he would have been even more pleased had Sunderland added to their tally shortly after the restart. Man of the match Kieran Richardson fired just over the bar after being teed up on the edge of the area by Stokes.

Just before the hour mark Portsmouth almost pulled a goal back, but Benjani saw his effort blocked by a last-ditch tackle from Evans.

Sunderland continued to press forward and Richardson went close to completing his hat-trick on 58 minutes. The Sunderland star cut inside from the right and rifled in a shot from 20 yards which beat James but came back off the crossbar.

Two minutes later Jones went close but headed over from six yards out.

The striker then almost turned provider on 68 minutes when his pass found Stokes on the right. The young Irishman tried to get the ball on to his favoured left foot, but this allowed James enough time to position himself and make a good save to deny the forward.

Portsmouth continued to look for a way back into the game but the Black Cats defence held firm as time ticked away.

Sunderland

Portsmouth

Corners

75

Fouls

146

Goal attempts

129

Shots off target

64

Offsides

30

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