Saturday, April 5, 2008

March 5, 200812:15(GMT)
West Bromwich Albion 0 – 1 Portsmouth Wembley, LondonAttendance: 83,584Referee: Howard Webb
Morrison 60’Brunt 60’Bednar 60’Miller 60’Gera 75’Kim 75′ Match Report 54′ (1) Kanu 71′ Baros 71′ Nugent 80′ Kanu 80′ Davis

West Bromwich Albion took on the only Premier League team remaining in the FA Cup on Saturday, with Portsmouth coming out on top. Pompey had defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the quarter-finals to advance to this stage, while West Brom crushed Bristol Rovers 5-1 to advance to this stage.

West Brom started the game strongly, with their first chance coming when Zolton Gera shot the ball right and David James who couldn’t hold on, and the ball had to be hacked clear by Sol Campbell. The Baggies dominated the midfield for much of the first half and Portsmouth had to play off the counter-attack, but couldn’t produce any good chances. Portsmouth began to gain steam nearing halftime, but neither team would score in the first period.

After the break it was Portsmouth who took the lead through Kanu. A mis-communication between defender and goalkeeper occurred after Kiely made a fine save off Milan Baros. The ball ended up at Kanu’s feet around five yards away from the goal, and the Nigerian side footed the ball calmly into the corner. After their goal Portsmouth began to control the match, but West Brom still get their chances as Robert Koren smashes a shot off the crossbar. West Brom pushed for the equalizer near the end of the match, but the Portsmouth defense stood firm and will now await the winner of Barnsley v Cardiff to see who they will take on at Wembley in the final.