Portsmouth are currently preparing to travel to the Kassam Stadium to play Oxford United in a League Two fixture on Saturday afternoon, but on this day seven years ago, there was a different outlook on the South Coast as Pompey prepared to compete in their first ever match on the European stage after winning the FA Cup earlier in the year.
Defeating Cardiff City at Wembley Stadium had allowed Harry Redknapp to bring in further established talent to complement the crop of players, which included Glen Johnson, Sol Campbell, Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe, that had lifted the club to new heights. Portsmouth had built up some confidence ahead of their historic European bow too, recording back-to-back wins in the Premier League over Everton and Middlesbrough either side of the international break.
Standing in their way would be Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes, who had been cruelly denied a first appearance in the Champions League after having a goal wrongly ruled out during their final qualifying match with Basel. Despite their lack of star names, Vitoria were considered stern opposition for Portsmouth, and with the second away from home, it was deemed imperative that they secured a positive result in front of their own fans at Fratton Park.
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Portsmouth took a while to get going against a team that comprised three Portuguese and five Brazilian players, but shortly before the midway point of the first half they created their first clear-cut opportunity through Defoe, who latched on to a pass from Peter Crouch before forcing a finger-tip save out of Nilson. A minute later, Pompey went even closer, with a John Utaka half-volley striking the post and rebounding clear.
However, after Defoe had again forced a decent intervention out of Nilson, Pompey finally had their goal, but it came from a rare source in Diarra, who netted just his third goal for an English club in over 60 appearances. The versatile Frenchman glided past a couple of opponents before linking up with Defoe, who provided the assist for the 23-year-old to volley home. Fratton Park was rocking, but three minutes later, ecstasy very nearly turned to disaster.
Portsmouth had been comfortable, but just before half time, veteran defender Campbell hauled down Felix Roberto inside the penalty area, giving Vitoria the opportunity to net an all-important away goal. Fortunately for Pompey and Campbell, who was celebrating his 34th birthday, Joao Paulo Fagardo drilled his penalty into the stands via the crossbar. It was a huge let-off for the home side, and straight after the restart, they had their own chance from 12 yards to put distance between themselves and their opponents.
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Joao Moreno tripped the impressive Defoe, who dusted himself down before taking the kick himself. However, he too failed to convert, with his low effort being comfortably saved by Nilson. Portsmouth could have been left ruing that opportunity but on the hour mark, Defoe redeemed himself with a superbly taken volley from a Nadir Belhadj delivery.
The English team pushed for a potentially decisive third, with Defoe and Armand Traore both squandering openings, but they had to be content with just the two strikes, which would turn out to be vital two weeks later. Vitoria required just 32 minutes to level the tie on aggregate but they were unable to find a third goal that would have eliminated their opponents. The second leg progressed to extra time, but against the odds, Crouch would score twice in six minutes to earn Portsmouth a place in the group stages, where they would land ties against AC Milan, Wolfsburg, Braga and Heerenveen.
Portsmouth would miss out on reaching the knockout round, with four points from four games not being enough for a top-three spot, but the experience of competing against some of the continent's top sides, which is likely to remain their only European adventure for some time, will live long in the memory on the South Coast.
Portsmouth: James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Belhadj, Utaka (Diop), Diarra, Davis, Armand Traore (Hreidarsson), Crouch (Kanu), Defoe
Subs not used: Ashdown, Kaboul, Mvuemba, Little
Vitoria de Guimaraes: Nilson, Gregory, Danilo, Momha (Luciano Amaral), Andrezinho, Joao Alves, Wenio, Fajardo (Jean Coral), Moreno, Desmarets, Roberto
Subs not used: Nuno Santos, Sereno, Carlitos, Tiago Ronaldo, Lamelas
Darren Plant
