Match Report

Portsmouth 1 - 1 West Ham

27 January 2010 Pompey fightback dents Hammers

Webber strike cancels out earlier Upson effort

Rock bottom Portsmouth fought back to draw 1-1 with fellow relegation strugglers West Ham at Fratton Park.

Both sides created chances in the first period, with Pompey keeper Asmir Begovic pulling off a fantastic double save to deny Frank Nouble and then Alessandro Diamanti.

West Ham counterpart Robert Green had to be at full stretch to deny Aaron Mokoena at the other end, before Begovic produced another top-notch save to deny Jack Collison.

The Hammers took the lead seven minutes after then interval when Matthew Upson scored from a Diamanti cross.

But Avram Grant's battlers equalised via substitute Danny Webber with 14 minutes remaining - his first Premier League goal for the club - to earn a share of the spoils.

Portsmouth went into the clash without Papa Bouba Diop and Michael Brown, who limped out of last Saturday's FA Cup win over Sunderland with hamstring and back injuries respectively.

Right-back Steve Finnan returned from a groin injury, while goalkeeper David James sat out and reportedly remains on the brink of joining Stoke.

West Ham striker Carlton Cole started on the bench as he returned from a knee injury.

Opening exchanges

Pompey had the best of the opening exchanges with former Tottenham midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng's trickery ensuring his side the lion's share of possession.

Striker Frederic Piquionne came within inches of scoring after 19 minutes, when John Utaka fed Hermann Hreidarsson, who scuffed the ball across the face of goal but the number nine failed to connect and the ball squirmed out.

The game exploded into life after 20 minutes and Begovic needed to be at his best to keep Pompey on level terms, when Nouble stormed through on goal.

The Serb flew to his left to save the striker's effort and then diverted Diamanti's follow-up wide.

Pompey charged straight down the other end and Green needed to be at full stretch to turn a drive from Mokoena wide seconds later.

Boateng's corner found Frenchman Younes Kaboul, whose volley was scrambled off the Hammers line.

The pendulum then swung back in West Ham's favour and Nouble slotted Collison through on goal, but Begovic turned his shot across goal wide.

Piquionne nearly handed Pompey the lead after the break, when he flicked Kaboul's long ball forward towards goal, but he failed to get sufficient purchase on the ball to knock it past Green.

Hammers quickly went down the other end of the field and skipper Upson gave the East Londoners the lead after 52 minutes.

Pompey cleared a Diamanti corner from the right, but the Italian curled the ball back to the far post.

Upson challenged for the ball with Younes Kaboul and diverted the ball past Begovic with his chest to send the West Ham fans behind the goal wild.

Opportunity

Pompey defender Mark Wilson had a golden opportunity to level from an Angelos Basinas corner after 61 minutes.

But the young defender was unable to hit the target with a free header from four yards out.

Boateng was dejected after 70 minutes, when Utaka's low cross from the right found him unmarked on the left side of the box and he dragged his effort into the side netting.

Upson had an opportunity to bag his second moments later, but his header from Mark Noble's cross was wide.

Pompey boss Grant then introduced striker Webber for Piquionne for the final 17 minutes, and the ex-Manchester United man made an almost instant impact.

Boateng headed the ball down for Utaka, who slotted Webber in beautifully to coolly pass the ball under Green and net his first Premier League goal for Portsmouth.

Webber nearly doubled his tally after 81 minutes, when he flicked Utaka's cross from the left just over the bar.

But the Hammers held on for a point which ensures Pompey remain in deep trouble at the bottom of the table.

Portsmouth	Team Statistics	West Ham United
1	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	0
9	Shots on Target	6
6	Shots off Target	7
3	Blocked Shots	2
6	Corners	4
18	Fouls	11
1	Offsides	2
3	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
71.2	Passing Success	72.1
21	Tackles	27
90.5	Tackles Success	88.9
50.3	Possession	49.7
54.8	Territorial Advantage	45.2

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