Hardly a Happy New Year!

If this is 2008 well you can keep it! Portsmouth came to the Madejski Stadium fully aware that they could become the first side this season to do the double over Reading. They managed to do just that thanks to goals from Sol Campbell and John Utaka in a 2-0 win for the South Coast club, their seventh away win in their last eight matches away from Fratton Park.

Reading pitted themselves against Portsmouth with two similar games still fresh in their collective mind. In terms of performance, the 6-4 game at Tottenham last Saturday was a carbon copy of the 7-4 score-line at Fratton Park in September. Both games prompted a feeling of disappointment and mild embarrassment. The irony of Reading having to face both Tottenham and Portsmouth in the space of five days following the debacle at White Hart Lane is a bit like asking the body to return to the scene of its own murder.

History probably favoured Portsmouth today. Reading has not scored a goal against Portsmouth in a home fixture since 1987 with 0-0 being the favoured score-line in this fixture in recent times. In view of recent events 0-0 will do very nicely thank you much. However, the desire to have a quiet dull and safe 0-0 draw lasted about as long as my New Year’s resolutions have. After just four minutes Ibrahima Sonko fouled Benjani inside the penalty box and was subsequently sent from the pitch. The penalty awarded was the third against Reading in four games. Thankfully Niko Kranjcar hit the post from the spot.

Portsmouth though made amends by taking the lead through a Sol Campbell header in the 9th minute. Hahnemann did not deal with a cross properly and England defender Campbell was there to give Pompey the lead. Benjani, John Utaka and Sulley Muntari all had chances to put Pompey further ahead in the first half, but were unable to convert. Kevin Doyle could have drawn Reading level late in the first half with a decent shot across goal in the Portsmouth penalty box, but was denied by the legs of Portsmouth’s goalkeeper David James. Benjani nearly doubled Portsmouth lead in first half injury time crashing a header against the Reading crossbar.

Reading’s chances in the second half were few and far between. Portsmouth was playing a clever game using their extra man to good effect. James Harper and Andre Bikey being restricted to wayward long distance shots that were never going to trouble David James. With Portsmouth now playing on the break, John Utaka broke away the best in the 66th minute to race into the box and dribble past Marcus Hahnemann and planted the ball in the back of the Portsmouth goal.

Utaka’s goal sealed the points for Portsmouth and stopped Reading having any chance of getting any points against Portsmouth this term. Utaka’s goal was also the thirteenth between the two sides this season, how undeniably fitting from the Reading perspective that the number thirteen should emerge somewhere along the line in the meetings between these two sides this season.

By Stuart Croucher