Sparky heats up the forces to face Portsmouth

The fallout of the FA Cup loss to Nottingham Forest continues to dominate Manchester City conversation but as the club ventures forward against Portsmouth it must find the professional resolve to dust itself off and get back the the fight. While I am not positive I have seen that “back against the wall” attitude, it is time to heat things up and make sure those that worry about losing their jobs to new arrivals know every performance could be the difference in your career. Performances past are just that, the past and the mettle of a professional is how he gets back up.

Looking back on the recent loss Mark Hughes said:

“We all feel it very much so, obviously at the weekend we didn’t get anywhere near the level we know we are capable of, that was the galling thing from our point of view because we know we are better than we showed.

“We’ve had time to reflect on the game, watched it over and over again and the opinion of it doesn’t really change,” he said.

“After the game I gave credit to Nottingham Forest because they worked extremely hard for the victory. You look at the stats and the cold, hard facts, and at the end of the day they made the most of their opportunities.

“I think they had four shots on target and they scored three goals. We had numerous shots on goal and didn’t score any – that doesn’t tell the whole story obviously – goals change games and they got the first goal and that gave them something to fight for and defend.

“They could then play on the counter attack and we didn’t cope very well with that. When you’re chasing the game it’s important that you keep your shape and discipline, even when you’re trying to ask questions of the opposition. In the end we didn’t really have that much structure to how we were trying to approach the game.

“I’d be disappointed if they weren’t down in fairness but at the end of the day you can’t dwell on what’s gone on before.

“You have to look at the game in detail as a Manager and as a coaching staff you make sure that any issues that arose in the game are addressed early in the week. Then towards the end of the week you prepare for the opposition ahead of you.

“That never changes and the games that have been played you can’t allow them to impact you in a negative way. You have to learn from defeats as well as wins and make sure you’re better next time out.”

Heerenveen's UEFA Cup effort ends with loss to Portsmouth

As mentioned in my preview, I questioned how much energy would be expended for the Portsmouth UEFA Cup match and without surprise, Heerenveen’s UEFA Cup efforts ended with a 3-0 loss to the English side. Given the club is locked in a tie with PSV at twenty-six points and chasing Twente, Ajax and AZ the question was whether the club would prioritize the weekend match against Sparta Rotterdam or push forward for a victory.

With Geert Arend Roorda, Bonaventure Kalou and Croatian international Danijel Pranjić out of the lineup, Heerenveen pushed forward early and came close with Roy Beerens rattling the woodwork. However it was not too long before Peter Crouch began to take over on the attack and after a number of misses he headed Marc Wilson’s cross in five minutes before the break. Only two minutes later the English striker drove a close range rebound in to give Portsmouth the 2-0 lead at the break. Tarik Elyounoussi had a chance to bring a goal back were fifteen minutes after the restart but after it drifted wide, there were no further attempts. As time wound down Hermann Hreidarsson re-directed Glen Little’s free-kick in.

Repeating my original contentions, the priority must be the domestic season and continuing the winning streak with Sparta Rotterdam on Saturday.

Magpies thump Portsmouth 3-0

It was will be considered the bench-mark for the campaign, Newcastle delivered a thundering message to the rest of Premier League with a 3-0 demolition of Portsmouth at Fratton Park. With the victory the Magpies roar out of the relegation zone and sit in fourteenth spot with nineteen points.

Prior the break Shay Given displayed an uncanny ability keeping Pompey off the score-sheet, with Jermain Defoe in particular wondering what he needs to do to get one past the Republic of Ireland 'keeper. As the story so often goes, Portsmouth will rue those missed opportunities as six minutes after the break Jonás Gutiérrez intercepted a ball in the final third of the pitch and played the ball into Michael Owen who sent the ball over a onrushing David James. Portsmouth finishing woes continued but Obafemi Martins made no mistakes with thirteen minutes remaining as José Enrique provided him a point-blank opportunity that he made no mistake on. The perfect finish came as Danny Guthrie poached on a rebound off Shola Ameobi's cross with a minute left in regulation, bringing the match to a wondrous 3-0 conclusion.

Following the match, Joe Kinnear said:

"That was certainly one of our best performances in my time here.

"We've now had three clean sheets in our last three away games when you think of the draws at Chelsea and Middlesbrough so we are making ourselves very difficult to beat.

"I felt we bossed the game for long periods and I was disappointed at half-time when it was still goalless and we were coming back into the dressing room with nothing to show for all our efforts.

"But the lads stuck at it and you could see the confidence growing.

"We upped the tempo in the second half. I always felt we had more pace around the team than they did and thankfully we took the opportunities when they came in the second half.

"Scoring three goals away from home is great, especially when you consider Portsmouth is not an easy place to come to. It must be a very, very long time since a team came to Fratton Park and won by three clear goals.

"Before the game people were making a lot of the fact we hadn't won away from home in the league this season and that we hadn't won at Portsmouth in the Premier League, so it's nice to put both of those to bed."

Newcastle returns to action next Sunday as they welcome Tottenham to St James' Park.

Newcastle v Portsmouth match preview

Following Sunderland's rousing 4-0 victory over West Brom, Newcastle is dire need of points against Portsmouth to keep pace and claw its way out of relegation zone. Sitting two points above the Magpies are Man City, West Ham and Sunderland and as closest rivals outside of the relegation zone it is imperative to not allow them to increase the point margin.

With dreams of earning a Europa League bid, Portsmouth is equally aware this is a match they cannot afford to slip-up on. For the match they will have Glen Johnson and Richard Hughes back from injury but will be without Papa Bouba Diop, who is in the sin-bin as well as Younes Kaboul and winger John Utaka to injuries.

Joe Kinner is still sweating the fitnes off Shola Ameobi, Sebastien Bassong, Nicky Butt, Damien Duff and Danny Guthrie, each subject to a pre-match fitness test. Undefeated in their previous four matches these possible injuries will have a major impact upon lineup decisions as will expected heavy rains. Joe Kinnear is expected to also call upon eighteen year-old Academy product Kazenga LuaLua for the match.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović can't be stopped

The deadly combination of Bosnia and Herzegovina internationals Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović once again pulled Die Wölfe to victory as sent English side Portsmouth home with a 3-2 defeat. Twenty-two year-old Edin Džeko brought Volkswagen Arena to its feet only three minutes into the match as he redirected Christian Gentner's perfect cross to the back of the net. Three Lions capped Jermain Defoe brought the match level only eight minutes later, capitalized upon a poor clearance by Wolfsburg 'keeper Diego Benaglio. Clearly energized by the goal, Pompey took the lead a further three minutes later with Arnold Mvuemba's strike taking a gratuitous deflection from nearly twenty meters. To continue the goal made start, only twenty-three minutes after the start the match was brought level at two as Christian Gentner's shot that appeared for more like a cross than a attempt on the goal, somehow evaded everyone including Portsmouth 'keeper David James. While an agreement not to bother with defending seemed to be evoked the match was empty of goals till the sixteen minutes remained when David James handled a long ball horribly, gifting it to Zvjezdan Misimović for the winning strike. Ten minutes before time Sol Campbell was adjudged to fouling young Edin Džeko in the area but Zvjezdan's effort was stopped by the Portsmouth 'keeper however Wolfsburg held for the 3-2 victory.

Wolfsburg now advances to the round of thirty-two with a perfect record in three matches. Felix Magath's side returns to Bundesliga action against Hannover 96 on Sunday.

Wolfsburg to deliver knockout punch

Die Wölfe welcome English side Portsmouth to Volkswagen Arena later today with an opportunity to seal their advancement to the next round of the UEFA Cup. While Felix Magath is more than aware that a draw will likely guarantee his club moving to the round of thirty-two, he will look to sever the hopes of the opposition and continue their dominance at home. Wolfsburg attacking force will sit Grafite again as he recovers fully from his training injury but will launch Ashkan Dejagah with the Bosnia and Herzegovina connection Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović forward against the defensively challenged Portsmouth. With Portsmouth’s high pedigree attack-force of Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Croatian international Niko Kranjčar, I expect the Wolfsburg back-line to be fortified with Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Barzagli for the get-go.

I will report on the match as it concludes.