My favourite 25 Portsmouth games in 25 years at The News: From Wembley to Gresty Road, Meadow Lane to St Mary's
Chief sports writer Neil Allen today marks 25 years at The News - and takes a look at his favourite matches covered.
It was November 2000 when I packed up by entire collection of Rothmans Yearbooks and left Erdington, Birmingham, for the south coast and a new job at The News.
Replacing Simon Parker on the sports desk, who is still going strong at the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, originally my duties were covering Southampton and Hampshire Cricket.
Well, 25 years on, I’ve now reported on 1,034 Pompey games, consisting of 151 different grounds, and seven Wembley matches.
And here are my favourite games covered...
25) Norwich 0 Pompey 1 - FA Cup - January 2019
Pompey were top of League One and Norwich were top of the Championship, setting up a fascinating FA Cup encounter. And it was held at Carrow Road, the best ground the Blues had played at for many a year.
Despite the Canaries being down to 10-men after 15 minutes following Grant Hanley’s straight red, it appeared to be heading for a replay.
Then Dion Donohue struck a sublime left-footed diagonal pass and Andre Green grabbed a stoppage-time winner. Cue Andy Moon’s finest commentary moment.
24) Coventry 1 Pompey 2 - FA Cup - January 2010
The coldest I have ever been covering a Pompey match - and many others in attendance that day wholly agree.
Indeed, there were audible groans when Coventry’s Stephen Wright’s last-gasp own goal forced the FA Cup third round replay into extra-time, thereby subjecting us to the elements even longer.
We should be thankful then that Aaron Mokoena decided to settle the match in the final minute of extra-time to prevent penalties.
Unbeknown to any of us at the time, that match would lead to a second Wembley final in two years. As ever, played on a sunny May day.
23) Pompey 2 Nottingham Forest 0 - August 2002
Nobody could have possibly foreseen that this opening day victory would herald one of the most enjoyable seasons in Pompey post-war history as Harry Redknapp’s wonderful side swaggered into the Premier League.
There was Paul Merson’s debut, Linvoy Primus coming off the bench for the injured Eddie Howe in a sliding doors moment for his Blues career, and debut goals for Deon Burton and Vincent Pericard.
I also saw an agitated Forest boss Paul Hart afterwards bite the head off the Nottingham Post’s reporter for asking about his use of substitutes - that would happen to me in the future!
22) Pompey 3 Dagenham 0 - August 2015
Pompey had finished 16th the previous season, the lowest placing in their Football League history, with Paul Cook subsequently recruited to transform fortunes.
That first summer’s recruitment was arguably the finest I have ever seen at Fratton Park, with the likes of Kyle Bennett, Michael Doyle, Gareth Evans, Christian Burgess, Enda Stevens, Matt Clarke, Gary Roberts, Kal Naismith and Ben Davies recruited.
Sure enough, there were nine debutants in the starting XI for the 2015-16 season opener against Dagenham & Redbridge on a glorious south-coast day.
Pompey won 3-0, with goals from Bennett (two) and Evans - and there was a wonderful sense that something special could be happening with this group of players. And so it proved.
21) Accrington 1 Pompey 3 - March 2016
The Crown Ground became a regular destination during the years outside the Championship, yet Pompey would win just two of their nine visits.
One of those rare triumphs was March 2016, when the Blues ventured to Lancashire seeking victory over their promotion rivals - and there were fireworks on and off the pitch.
Paul Cook had a huge and very public bust up with his counterpart John Coleman before the game after discovering Romy Boco was on their bench.
Now Boco had been allowed to leave Fratton Park in the January, joining Accrington on a free transfer, and apparently there was a gentleman’s agreement he wouldn’t face Cook’s men that season. Coleman would even rub salt into the wound by bringing the utility man on in the second half.
Still, it was an excellent win for Pompey, capped by Michael Doyle’s spectacular volleyed goal from distance - a stunning collector’s piece - for his first in a Blues shirt.
20) Pompey 3 Barnsley 0 - May 2001
Last-day drama for Pompey as Lee Bradbury, Gary O’Neil and Kevin Harper scored the goals to keep them in the First Division (now Championship).
The Blues’ match had finished before others, so there was the anxious wait while people listened to radios to discover results elsewhere. Then came the shout: ‘We’re safe’.
My overriding memory, though, is Graham Rix on the Fratton Park pitch after the final whistle with a microphone promising ‘This will never happen again’. He was right, I suppose, two years later the Blues were in the Premier, albeit not with him as manager.
19) Morecambe 3 Pompey 1 - April 2015
Undoubtedly my strangest experience of covering a Pompey match.
Before kick-off, under-pressure manager Andy Awford took me aside to complain about too much negative reporting of a side positioned 14th in League Two.
Then, with BBC Radio Solent summariser Guy Whittingham taken ill on the day of the game, I was called up as an emergency stand-in to assist Andy Moon in their live commentary. For the first and only time.
Pompey would lose 3-1, yet a teenager called Conor Chaplin had entered from the bench to score his maiden senior goal. Funnily enough, I’d seen him net a hat-trick for the reserves earlier in the week.
And amid a dreadful defeat, which would see Awford dismissed days later, the away fans decided to stage a conga late in the match to keep their spirits up. Told you it was strange.
18) Derby 2 Pompey 2 - August 2007
Pride Park represented my first competitive match as The News’ chief sports writer, having taken over from the excellent Mark Storey.
Talk about a difficult start, The News were banned at the time, I can’t even remember why, and I would collect three of my own over the next few years under their press officer Gary Double.
Anyhow, we weren’t allowed to speak to players, so a helpful Derby local journalist kindly supplied us with post-match quotes from Sol Campbell, but Harry Redknapp was permitted.
Benjani and debutant John Utaka were the scorers, with Harry afterwards declaring Utaka would rip up the Premier League. Even when banned, he’d give you a brilliant line!
17) Vitoria Guimaraes 2 Pompey 2 - October 2009
Curiously, the match began on a Thursday night and ended on a Friday morning, with extra-time needed to be played in Portugal.
The hosts scored twice in the first half to square the tie 2-2 on aggregate - before a Peter Crouch double earned Harry Redknapp’s men a 4-2 victory.
Before the match, Pompey fans had gathered in the Praca de Santiago, a local square, to create a brilliant atmosphere - and friendly atmosphere - with footballs kicked around and locals hanging Blues flags out of their windows upon request.
What also stood out was how the local journalists in Guimaraes’ press box cheered and went crazy on the two occasions the team they covered scored. Highly unprofessional. So when Crouch bagged his double, all the travelling media gave them a taste of their own medicine. Highly unprofessional.
16) Stoke 1 Pompey 0 - November 2009
Forgive me for nominating a Pompey defeat, but Ricardo Fuller’s second-half goal effectively cost Paul Hart his job.
I had been banned from the training ground and Fratton Park after writing that Hart would be replaced by Avram Grant as manager. They even tried to ban me from away grounds, but it wasn’t under their jurisdiction.
By Stoke, this had been going on for a month. So afterwards, I sat at the back of the press room with my arms folded, face expressionless, yet cheering within, as I watched the dead man walking giving his last press conference as Pompey boss.
Grant did indeed replace him - and I was still banned for his unveiling. I instead watched it at home on Sky.
15) Southampton 1 Pompey 4 - FA Cup - February 2010
The Premier League’s bottom club came alive in the FA Cup that season, much to supporters’ relief, including a first-ever win at St Mary’s.
The match was goalless after 66 minutes, yet Avram Grant’s men would end up steamrolling their League One hosts during a devastating finale.
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Aruna Dindane, Nadi Belhadj and Jamie O’Hara were the Blues scorers as the visitors eventually ran riot to replicate the 4-1 scoreline from the previous encounter between the clubs five years earlier.
14) Pompey 3 Preston 1 - November 2024
To their credit, Pompey had somehow managed to keep Colby Bishop’s shock inclusion in the match-day squad under wraps before the team was announced an hour before kick-off against Preston.
Just three months earlier, the striker had undergone heart surgery, yet returned ahead of schedule to take his place on the struggling Blues’ bench.
Bishop’s mere presence raised the Fratton Park atmosphere, which Mousinho had hoped would be the case, and it was fitting that the striker would mark his return by scoring Pompey’s third, from the spot, in a 3-1 success.
Bishop once feared he would never play again - talk about a perfect comeback on an emotionally-charged night.
13) Pompey 2 Sunderland 2 (5-4 pens) - Checkatrade Trophy final - March 2019
Understandably, the EFL Trophy format, regardless of its sponsor, is sneered at by many fans, particularly those whose clubs have won superior silverware in their history.
Nonetheless, with a record Wembley crowd of 85,021 for the competition, beating Sunderland on penalties provided a wonderful Pompey memory.
Nathan Thompson’s 82nd-minute equaliser was, of course, overshadowed by Jamal Lowe’s sublime lob. Then the match entered spot-kicks, with Craig MacGillivray and Oli Hawkins the hero.
My eight-year-old son was in attendance with a friend, yet asked to leave before penalties as he was too nervous to watch.
12) Leeds 3 Pompey 3 - August 2024
It had been 12 years since Pompey were last in the Championship, so what a wonderful stage to mark their long-awaited return.
We’ve all been to the likes of Accrington, Morecambe, York, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge and Cheltenham - now the Blues were facing Leeds in front of a 36,432 crowd.
Admittedly, it was an uncomfortable start, with the hosts providing a true baptism of fire as they battered John Mousinho’s men and took an early lead.
By the end, Brenden Aaronson popped up with a 96th-minute equaliser to earn the Elland Road club a point following a remarkable match. Welcome back, Pompey!
11) Wigan 1 Pompey 2 - April 2006
The Great Escape was completed at the DW Stadium, with 5,000 travelling Pompey fans packed in the North Stand - and me among them after journeying with Alex Crook.
Harry Redknapp’s men were losing 1-0 at half-time, yet fought back through Benjani’s first goal and then the ever-dependable Matt Taylor’s penalty. He then ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the away fans.
Then I popped into the dressing room area to conduct a few post-match interviews, before the entire local press pack met up at a country pub on the way home to toast survival, with Sam Matterface, Laurence Herdman and Paul Hardyman among them. A great day.
10) Pompey 4 Southampton 1 - April 2005
During that period, my role at The News involved covering Southampton (they were different times!) and what a game to be present for.
After 27 minutes, Pompey were winning 4-1 and the architect - two-goal Lomana Lualua - had limped off with a hamstring injury sustained while doing backflips celebrating the fourth goal!
What an atmosphere too, with Harry Redknapp controversially in charge of Southampton and subjected to a truly intimidating atmosphere, while supposedly flanked by former SAS soldiers for his own protection.
The song (Is This The Way To) Amarillo would become synonymous with this game and, three matches later, Southampton would be relegated from the Premier League.
9) Pompey 3 Barnsley 2 - April 2024
Conor Shaughnessy created one of the great iconic Pompey moments when he powered home Marlon Pack’s corner for a last-gasp winner to seal promotion and the League One title.
Pompey hadn’t even played well against Barnsley at an expectant Fratton Park and were trailing 2-1 with seven minutes remaining and facing a first defeat in 17 games.
That was until Christian Saydee was fouled and substitute Colby Bishop levelled from the spot in the 83rd minute. Then Shaughnessy spectacularly capped the late comeback.
How the city subsequently celebrated a Championship return after 12 years, particularly in O’Neil’s, with Mousinho’s players still feeling the after effects days later against Wigan.
8) Crewe 1 Pompey 2 - March 2013
After a club-record 23 games without a win, Pompey finally triumphed again on a memorable day at Gresty Road.
To put that into context, it was no victory in four-and-a-half months for a club in administration, spiralling into League Two, and with a High Court hearing set for the following month which could see the Blues liquidated.
Patrick Agyemang and David Connolly were the scorers and, at the final whistle, there were emotional scenes - and many tears - shared between the travelling supporters and players.
Caretaker boss Guy Whittingham was even greeted with a round of applause from the travelling local media when he came out for post-match duties. Believe me, wins are more pleasurable to write about than defeat.
7) Notts County 1 Pompey 3 - April 2017
Meadow Lane staged an on-pitch Pompey promotion party amid emotional scenes thanks to substitute Jamal Lowe’s double in the final 12 minutes.
Just two years earlier, the Blues had finished in their lowest position in Football League history, now they had clinched a spot in League One.
A wonderful day capped off by the players joining fans in the Victory Lounge that evening to celebrate promotion. Paul Cook had dragged a fallen football club to its feet again and ignited the start of its resurgence.
6) Pompey 2 Manchester City 1 - March 2006
Harry Redknapp was fighting to save his job, with John Gregory lined up as a potential replacement. While Pompey were fighting to stay in the Premier League. Then Pedro Mendes struck.
Two spectacular goals from long range, the second a last-gasp winner, earned Pompey a crucial victory to spark what would become the Great Escape.
Sam Matterface’s commentary of Mendes’ winner for The Quay has become iconic, while that goal also entered Fratton folklore. One of the great Pompey moments - and an absolute privilege to witness it from the press box.
5) Pompey 1 Cardiff 0, FA Cup final, May 2008
Harry Redknapp’s men were obviously overwhelming favourites against Championship Cardiff and victory was comfortable, with Kanu the match winner.
Regardless, it was a wonderful occasion. Generations of Pompey fans sharing lifelong memories of watching their team triumph in an FA Cup final.
Likewise, the open-topped bus celebrations the following day, with the trophy paraded through the city before the event on Southsea Common, with estimates of 200,000 people present.
It capped my first season as The News’ chief sports writer. Pompey’s first FA Cup win in 69 years and I had a ring-side seat.
4) Southampton 2 Pompey 2 - March 2012
Southampton refused to let me into the St Mary’s press box, coming up with nonsense that it was full, despite still having plenty of seats. I suspect it was down to a previous Twitter exchange with their press officer, who had pathetically criticised Pompey winning Family Club of the Year at the Football League Awards, thanks to Clare Martin and her team.
Still, Pompey’s ticket office manager, the late Elaine Giles, arranged for me to have a ticket and bubble bus seat on the day of the game, so I still went along.
As luck would have it, David Norris’ iconic 94th-minute volley was directly in line with me and, during the chaotic celebrations, I lost my glasses. Then I went home and wrote the match report.
Thanks to Southampton, I had the best seat in the house to witness one of the great Pompey goals.
3) Pompey 2 Spurs 0 - FA Cup semi-final - April 2010
Nobody gave Pompey a chance of beating Harry Redknapp’s star-studded Spurs, quite rightly too.
Having been relegated the previous day without kicking a ball and being the first Premier League club to enter administration, the Blues were in turmoil.
Yet, remarkably, against all the odds, Avram Grant’s men claimed a stunning 2-0 extra-time victory at Wembley to shock football.
For me, it felt bigger than the 2008 FA Cup final win, although no doubt many will disagree.
2) Pompey 2 AC Milan 2 - November 2008
This still ranks as the best atmosphere I have ever heard at Fratton Park. I had friends texting me during the game stunned at the noise created, one said he had to turn his TV down.
Granted, it was hugely disappointing to watch Tony Adams’ side concede twice in the final six minutes as AC Milan snatched a draw at the death to shatter dreams of a remarkable Pompey victory.
However, upon reflection, it remained a magical evening against a star-studded AC Milan at the peak of their powers - with the Fratton faithful the true stars of the show.
1) Pompey 6 Cheltenham 1 - May 2017
The Football League didn’t even have the League Two trophy or the replica at Fratton Park, such was the unlikely prospect of Pompey taking the title - but that’s exactly what Paul Cook’s team did.
With Plymouth and Doncaster failing to win, the Blues strode past to top the table for the last 32 minutes of the season following a 6-1 thumping of Cheltenham.
It is often said you appreciate highs far more when you have plummeted to the depths - and I don’t think I have ever been as emotional after a Pompey game. The relegations, the dodgy owners, goal-scoring goalkeepers, avoiding liquidation at the High Court, 23 games without a win, constantly losing at Accrington Stanley. Now the Blues were League Two champions.
Me and my old mate Bunky Bowers had a big hug at the final whistle. It was the start of Pompey’s rise once more. Priceless.
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