Portsmouth 1 Stoke City 2: match report

By Alex Crook at Fratton Park Published: 7:35PM GMT twenty February 2010

Pompey heartbreaker: Salif Diao (right) celebrates scoring Stoke City"s last-gasp leader at Fratton Park Photo: ACTION IMAGES

If this is proves to be Portsmouths last diversion at Fratton Park it was a vicious approach to finish as Salif Diaos initial Premier League idea in eight years cursed his former bar to a distressing last notation reverse.

Portsmouth are fighting for presence on and off the margin after the majority violent deteriorate in their 112-year history.

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But whilst the awaiting of a fifth owners in eight months could nonetheless save the 2008 FA Cup winners from going out of commercial operation there is small idea of superfluous in the tip moody after the ultimate of their eighteen Premier League defeats.

Stoke City looked to have staid for a point after carrying defender Andy Wilkinson sent off with the measure sealed at 1-1, with Robert Huths header cancelling out Frederic Piquionnes initial half opener.

As Avram Grants side poured brazen in poke of a leader surrogate Diao slid in at the far post to spin Ricardo Fullers cranky over a pessimistic David James.

Grant and his beleaguered players will be anticipating for improved happening when Portsmouth lapse to the High Court a week Monday to face the circuitous up sequence released by HM Revenue and Customs over and delinquent £12 million pounds taxation bill.

Despite the Premier League rejecting their counterclaim to be authorised to sell players outward the send window Portsmouth sojourn assured a poser South African consortium will step in to wand off the hazard of liquidation.

Grant is refusing to give up hope, saying: "The incident on and off the representation is not good. We are eight points from reserve but we will keep fighting.

"The conflict currently was on the representation and people are you do their most appropriate to have certain the bar survives off the pitch.

"Every week I am conference this could be the last game, or the last afar diversion and we are vital from day to day but hopefully the justice will realize football clubs are not similar to any alternative business.

"The bar belongs to the supporters and I idea we can keep going."

Piquionne had already seen a idea poorly disallowed when he non-stop the scoring ten mins prior to half time.

Portsmouths heading scorer reacted quicker than the Stoke counterclaim when Thomas Sorensen could usually resist Quincy Owusu-Abeyies shot to side-foot home from an strident angle.

Stoke were behind on turn conditions only fifteen mins after as centre behind Huth shrugged off the attentions of conflicting series Marc Wilson to curtsy in Glenn Whelans corner.

Wilkinson was cruelly discharged after pciking up a second yellow label in the space of 9 mins for bundling over Aruna Dindane but Portsmouth could not have their man value equate and it was Stoke who had the last word of a pulsating clash.

Visiting physical education instructor Tony Pulis used his sides feat to launch an ardent counterclaim to the FA to safeguard Portsmouth are not forced out of business.

Pulis, who outlayed 9 months in assign at Fratton Park in 2000, said: "This is a important and ancestral bar and it is up to the FA to have certain they keep going.

"There needs to be an review in to what has left on here to have certain it never happens again."