Portsmouth scored late on to secure a 1-0 win over Bolton and ease their relegation fears.
Home side dominate game but require scrappy goal to take spoils
Portsmouth scored late on at Fratton Park to secure a 1-0 win over Bolton and ease their relegation fears.
The breakthrough came from the corner of substitute Nadir Belhadj, although a possible touch from Bolton midfielder Gavin McCann and a scramble on the line from fellow sub Kanu made sure of the goal.
In truth Pompey would have been disappointed if they had not left the ground with all three points after enjoying the lion's share of the chances, but at 0-0 the Fratton Park faithful will surely have been dreading another missed opportunity.
But the 78th minute strike takes Portsmouth equal with Bolton on 37 points and Paul Hart's side will perhaps breathe a sigh of relief that they are now six points clear of the relegation places.
Bolton on the other hand are unlikely to be feeling too much pressure following the defeat, but if the loss sparks a string of poor results so late in the season then Gary Megson and his men could well be looking nervously over their shoulders in the coming weeks.
Opening exchanges
Glen Johnson was the man at the heart of Portsmouth's best moves early on and he created the first chance of real note on 26 minutes, drilling a 16-yard drive straight at Jussi Jaaskelainen in the Bolton goal.
And it was Johnson once again in on goal just minutes later as Niko Kranjcar broke clear down the left and squared for the defender, only to see Johnson guide a side-footed shot at the body of Jaaskelainen.
Then, after Johan Elmander broke through at the other end and forced a smothering save from David James, Johnson thought his moment had come again when Kranjcar's delightful touch set him up for a thumping effort which Jaaskelainen turned on to the post with a fingertip save.
The Trotters had kept only one clean sheet in their previous 19 league games, but as the chances came and went in the second half, it looked set to be a rare goalless contest for Bolton - until Kanu's late strike.
Breakthrough
The former Arsenal player got the final touch on fellow substitute Belhadj's inswinging corner in the 78th minute to secure victory.
Jaaskelainen, who had been Bolton's hero in the first half, allowed the ball to squirm from his grasp and Kanu, who had come on for David Nugent after 71 minutes, claimed the touch to bundle the ball home.
Belhadj and Peter Crouch could easily have added to Pompey's lead in the six minutes which referee Phil Dowd added on at the end and they would have deserved it - so much did they dominate Bolton.
But one goal will clearly be enough to satisfy the Pompey faithful this time, after the frustration of a string of draws against relegation rivals.
However, the win was tempered by an injury to Kranjcar who was carried off with a serious looking problem.
| Portsmouth |
Team Statistics |
Bolton Wanderers |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 8 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 11 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 6 |
Corners |
5 |
| 11 |
Fouls |
16 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
4 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 67.9 |
Passing Success |
54.7 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
24 |
| 81.2 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 56.5 |
Possession |
43.5 |
| 61 |
Territorial Advantage |
39 |
|
