|
Portsmouth wins the FA Cup |
|
|
Sunday, 18 May 2008 |
 It was a night where the dream ended and reality checked in. a night when the champion hopefuls went in with heads held high and left the pitch held higher. A night when the favourites won and the underdogs lost. But it was not a bad defeat. Cardiff met Portsmouth in almost all department, except in finishing the ball. Nwanko Kanu scored Portsmouth 's only goal in the 1-0 FA Cup final. And it was a case of upper class versus lower class, a case of upper league versus lower league, and that was what Pompey had, the upper hand.
It was going to be Kanu's seventh goal of the season, and his first since his semi-final goal that they won against West Brom , an effort so closely accustomed with the Nigerian. Kanu missed two other opportunities and was outstanding throughout the night in Wembley especially since his goal did guarantee the Premiership team the honours of FA Cup winners 2007/2008.
This would be Portsmouth first silverware in 69 years, and with it, they have gotten themselves the ticket to UEFA Cup next season, one met with much fanfare and welcome. Cardiff , who was clearly off their edge had Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank but just could not find the net. Even when the young prodigy Ramsey came in, he did not do enough to inject any more excitement into the game. Perhaps both teams were playing defensively but on a night when there are no big teams in the finals, unlike the last few seasons, the match did go into sleep mode to some extent, and yet for a change, a new face wins the world's oldest football competition. And for the next year or so, Portsmouth will take pride and with it, the bragging rights to be the FA Cup Champions 2007/2008.
|
