Source: Daily_Mail
Hull City 0 Portsmouth 0: James laments suspension for key defender Johnson
David James is frustrated that his England team-mate Glen Johnson will be suspended for a crucial part of Portsmouth's relegation run-in following a terrible decision by Chris Foy.
The referee was fooled into giving Johnson a second yellow card in the 83rd minute when Hull's Dean Marney fell to the ground after attempting a tackle.
Johnson, playing right midfield because of Jermaine Pennant's injury, had been walking a tightrope before Foy's blunder, making some careless challenges.
'Unfortunately you can't have a yellow card rescinded and that makes it a lot worse,'complained James. 'Glen has justified his position in the England side.
'An attribute for him as an athlete is that he can play in different positions down the right side.'
The England goalkeeper, who made a crucial, acrobatic stop from Craig Fagan's header, gave an honest verdict on the match, in which both sides took a safety-first approach.
'The game was horrible, ugly but ultimately satisfying,' he said. 'We've got a game in hand (on teams in the bottom half), albeit at Old Trafford, so another nice 0-0 draw would do for us.'
Hull also have the look of a side focusing on clean sheets. But their manager Phil Brown, who may sign Darius Vassell and Tal Ben Haim, complained about 'naive moments'.
Portsmouth's last-gasp chance, when Hermann Hreidarsson's header hit a post, was an example.
'Bernard Mendy was naive to go through the back of Kanu and allowthem the free-kick,' said Brown. Meanwhile, Nick Barmby suffered abroken nose.
'It was a straight elbow by Mr Crouch of all people,' joked Barmby.
HULL CITY (4-4-1-1): Duke 6;Ricketts 6 (Folan 85min), Zayatte 7, Turner 7, Dawson 6; Mendy 5,Ashbee 6, Barmby 7 (Marney 74, 6), Geovanni 5; Fagan 5 (Kilbane 71, 5);Manucho 5.
PORTSMOUTH (4-4-2): James 7;Kaboul 6, Campbell 7, Distin 6, Hreidarsson 7; Johnson 5, Mullins 7,Hughes 7, Kranjcar 6 (Belhadj 76); Nugent 5 (Kanu 64, 6), Crouch 5. Booked: Johnson. Sent off: Johnson.
Man of the match: Nick Barmby.
Referee: Chris Foy.
