03.01.2010
Coventry add to Portsmouth woes with FA Cup draw
Premier League strugglers Portsmouth endured another dispiriting day as Championship side Coventry earned a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup third round at Fratton Park.
For the third time this season, Portsmouth's players are still waiting to receive their monthly salaries as Saudi owner Ali Al-Faraj tries to agree a bank loan that will ease the club's perilous financial situation.
Avram Grant's side have found it hard to cope with the financial distractions as their position at the foot of the Premier League shows all too clearly and they fared little better in the Cup on Saturday.
Coventry, 17th in English football's second tier, deservedly took the lead in the first half through David Bell's superb strike and it took an equaliser on the stroke of half-time from Kevin-Prince Boateng to salvage a replay for the beleaguered hosts.
A crowd of just 11,214 watched as Portsmouth, who won the FA Cup in 2008, failed to make the most of a bright start.
Tommy Smith tested Sky Blues goalkeeper Keiren Westwood after just three minutes, then Frederic Piquionne shot across the face of goal.
Coventry gradually grew in confidence though and Chris Coleman's side took the lead in the 30th minute when Bell lashed a long-range effort past Asmir Begovic.
Portsmouth's supporters began to show their frustration with chants of 'where have your wages gone?' and Grant's men finally showed enough energy to get back in the match.
They almost equalised when Westwood made a fine stop to deny Piquionne from Smith's cross.
And Boateng made sure Piquionne wouldn't regret that miss when he headed in a Richard Hughes cross in the 45th minute.
Coventry suffered a blow at the break when the injured Westwood was forced to come off, but Portsmouth couldn't find a way past substitute stopper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos.
Konstantopoulos made a fine close-range save when Boateng chased down Michael Brown's pass and turned to shoot sharply at the Greek.
John Utaka was picked out by a superb sweeping ball from Younes Kaboul after 81 minutes but, despite controlling the pass beautifully, Konstantopoulos kept his curling effort out with an impressive save.
Pompey looked stronger in the closing stages but Konstantopoulos secured a replay with excellent late stops from Utaka and Smith.
Source: © 2010 AFP - Carl de Souza
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