Portsmouth 1 Birmingham C 2:BIRMINGHAM GAINED revenge for their weekend FA Cup exit against Portsmouth after sending the Premier League's bottom club closer to relegation at Fratton Park last night as two goals from Cameron Jerome gave them the three points. Substitute Kanu pulled one back in the dying minutes but with Portsmouth already five points from safety and facing a likely nine-point deduction, this proved of little consolation.
Portsmouth’s defence began to look nervy and this allowed Jerome to fire the visitors ahead on 16 minutes after latching on to Christian Benitez’s pass. Alex McLeish’s side nearly doubled their lead after Benitez was found by Michel’s ball forward and squared for Craig Gardner, whose shot whistled just wide.
Birmingham put daylight between the sides on 42 minutes when Benitez back-heeled the ball to Jerome who shot under the diving James.
Substitute James McFadden nearly made the points safe after 81 minutes before Kanu headed home Jamie O’Hara’s cross from the right after 90 minutes.
PORTSMOUTH: James, Finnan, Ben-Haim, Hreidarsson, Belhadj, Brown (Kanu 65), Wilson (Owusu-Abeyie 46), O’Hara, Webber (Basinas 46), Piquionne, Dindane. Subs not used: Ashdown, Mokoena, Mullins, Diop. Booked: Belhadj.
BIRMINGHAM: Hart, Parnaby (Tainio 52), Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Gardner, Ferguson, Michel (Larsson 77), Fahey, Jerome, Benitez (McFadden 80). Subs not used: Taylor, Murphy, Queudrue, Jervis. Booked: Benitez, Michel.
Referee: Michael Jones (Cheshire).
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