A lone strike by substitute David Nugent in the second half was enough to secure FA Cup victory for Portsmouth against 10-man Ipswich.
Nugent grabs winner after Trotter sent off
A lone strike by substitute David Nugent in the second half was enough to secure a 1-0 victory for Portsmouth in the FA Cup against 10-man Ipswich.
Nugent was brought on at the beginning of the second half and did not waste any time as he netted in the 51st minute after breaking forward onto a through ball to coolly slot home past Neil Alexander in the home goal.
In the 24th minute the hosts were reduced to 10 men when Ipswich-born midfielder Liam Trotter was red carded following a tackle on Pedro Mendes.
Championship side Ipswich did not, however, cower to their top-flight opposition and came close to breaking the deadlock shortly before Nugent's opener when Daniel Haynes worried David James after he ran onto a through ball to make a shot, which was tipped away by the keeper.
Haynes again came close in injury-time with a last-ditch powerful effort which forced James into action again.
After six minutes, the visitors forced a corner, which floated over to the far post and former Ipswich defender Hermann Hreidarsson was just wide with a downward header.
Full-back Glen Johnson then got in down the right, and his low angled shot was saved by Town keeper Alexander.
Controversy
Ipswich, the form home side in the Championship, were seeing plenty of the ball in midfield without making any real progress around the Pompey penalty area.
After 24 minutes, Ipswich were controversially reduced to 10 men.
Academy graduate Trotter slid in on Mendes, leading with his studs right in front of the assistant on the far side.
The Portsmouth midfielder jumped out of the way, but was still caught by the somewhat rash challenge.
After a long lecture, and seemingly consultation with his colleagues via the headset, referee Halsey deemed the one-footed tackle dangerous enough for a straight red card - much to the disbelief of the Portman Road faithful.
Understandably, Halsey was then jeered at every decision, only getting the home fans on his side when awarding a free-kick some 30 yards out on the right.
Portsmouth seemed content to wait patiently for an opening but too often chose the wrong pass when in promising positions as Papa Bouba Diop blasted his shot from 20 yards high into the stands.
Ipswich rallied at the end of the first half, and Counago flicked on a near-post corner, which Johnson cleared off the line under pressure from Billy Clarke.
Portsmouth made a change at the break, with Mendes replaced by Nugent.
After 47 minutes, a break down the right saw Haynes pick up the ball and drive on to the edge of the box. His low shot across goal was well saved by James, quickly down to his right.
No mistake
However, Pompey soon took the lead. A long ball upfield from Sol Campbell caught out the Ipswich centre-backs, with Nugent getting ahead of Alex Bruce.
The summer signing from Preston made no mistake, taking the pass on into the penalty area and slotting past Alexander from eight yards.
It was almost 2-0 after 63 minutes when Nugent sent a half-volley on the turn against the crossbar following a deflected cross by John Utaka down the right.
Pompey should have gone further ahead when Hreidarsson's low cross went straight along the six-yard box and to Utaka the far post, but somehow the Nigerian completely missed his shot.
Ipswich rallied during the closing stages, with substitute Alan Lee forcing a diving sage from James.
However, the Suffolk side could not find a way back into the tie despite three minutes of stoppage-time - as James again denied Town with a fine save at full stretch from Haynes.
| Team Name |
Ipswich Town |
Portsmouth |
| Possession |
44% |
56% |
| Goals |
0 |
1 |
| Shots On Target |
5 |
5 |
| Shots Off Target |
4 |
7 |
| Blocked Shots |
0 |
2 |
| Corners |
11 |
6 |
| Fouls Conceded |
11 |
11 |
| Offsides |
1 |
3 |
| Yellow Cards |
2 |
1 |
| Red Cards |
1 |
0 |
|
