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Match Report
Portsmouth v Liverpool 20 April 2005
Reds pick up Pompey win
Portsmouth 1 - 2 Liverpool
Liverpool boosted their UEFA Champions League hopes with a 2-1 win at Portsmouth.
Goals from Spanish duo Fernando Morientes and Luis Garcia were enough to give The Reds a much-needed win with Diomansy Kamara netting for the hosts to cancel out Morientes' early opener.
The win lifts Liverpool into fifth place in the table, while the defeat was Portsmouth's first under Alain Perrin and means they are still not safe from relegation.
The game started in a frenetic fashion with Tresor Lomana Lua Lua getting through on goal in the very first minute only to have his run halted by a late offside flag.
Liverpool should have scored in their first noteworthy attack two minutes later when Milan Baros got on the end of Xabi Alonso's pass inside the box and shrugged off a challenge from Arjan de Zeeuw only for Jamie Ashdown to rush quickly off his line to block his left-footed shot.
A minute later Liverpool broke the deadlock with Morientes breaking his barren run of form in front of goal.
Riise burst past Matt Taylor down the right and sent over an inviting cross for Morientes who saw his initial shot saved by Ashdown, but the Spaniard reacted quickest to poke home the rebound while on the ground.
Gary O'Neil had a half chance for Portsmouth on seven minutes when Lua Lua picked him out unmarked inside the box with a quickly taken corner, but he got his volley all wrong firing well wide of the target.
Riise tried his luck with an ambitious volley wide on the left on the quarter hour and was unlucky to see his effort sail wide of the far post. Morientes wasted a golden opportunity to double Liverpool's lead on 26 minutes when Steve Finnan picked him out unmarked at the back post, but the Spanish international powered his header over the crossbar.
Portsmouth came close to drawing level on 33 minutes when O'Neil sent Lua Lua scampering clear on goal with a clever pass and his lob looked set to end up in the net only for Jerzy Dudek to get back and palm the ball clear from under his own crossbar.
The home side did not have to wait long to equalise with Kamara bundling home a goal a minute later.
Taylor sent over a corner to de Zeeuw who saw his free header cleared off the line by Finnan, but Kamara was on hand to scramble the ball past Dudek and into the net.
Portsmouth came close to taking the lead three minutes before the break when the impressive Lua Lua played Kamara through on goal, but Dudek stood up big to keep up his shot with his legs.
Riise missed a great chance to give Liverpool the lead just before half time when Alonso's pass split the Portsmouth defence to leave the Norwegian with a clear sight of goal, but he rushed his shot volleying wide of the target.
Liverpool did restore their lead right on the stroke of half time when Riise sent over a fine cross into the box for Luis Garcia to power a superb header past Ashdown and maintain his rich vein of form.
The visitors came close to netting a third goal three minutes after the break when Finnan played in Riise and he saw his shot well saved by the legs of Ashdown.
Seconds later substitute Vladimir Smicer fired a dangerous shot right across the face of goal as Liverpool went in search of a third goal.
Baros made space for a shot on 52 minutes, but his shot went straight at Ashdown and six minutes later Riise should have done better when he cut inside Aliou Cisse, but the Norwegian dragged his shot wide of the target.
Portsmouth should have drawn level on the hour mark when Lua Lua played Taylor in down the left and he sent over a fine cross to Stone unmarked inside the six yard box, but the midfielder somehow missed his kick with the goal at his mercy to let Liverpool off.
The impressive Alonso forced Ashdown into a good save a minute when he latched onto a ball on the edge of the box and fired in a powerful left-footed shot which Ashdown tipped over the crossbar.
Liverpool continued to pile on the pressure and Riise was unlucky not to score on 75 minutes when he got through on goal from Sami Hyypia's fine long pass, but stumbling he could not get his shot on target and the ball appeared to strike the hand of Dejan Stefanovic before being cleared.
Portsmouth substitute Patrik Berger came close to drawing Portsmouth level eight minutes from time when he picked the ball up on the edge of area and fired in a left-footed rocket which Dudek acrobatically tipped round the post.
Ashdown denied Liverpool a third in the final minute when he brilliantly tipped Alonso's shot over the crossbar after the Spaniard had been teed-up on the edge of the box by Smicer.
Report From 
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