Leighton Baines fires Everton's opener at PompeyDouble joy for Crouch as Fratton goes frantic over relegation relief
Staying in the Premier League clearly matters more than dreams of the Champions League.
There is no other way to explain the limp Everton performance in the second half of this game which allowed Portsmouth to take charge and come from behind to earn a vital victory when Peter Crouch headed his second goal with 15 minutes remaining.
The visitors, beaten only by Manchester United in their previous 18 games, had seemed set fair for a win and a tilt at the top four when Leighton Baines scored a fourth-minute free-kick.
But a poor decision by referee Peter Walton to award Portsmouth a corner, almost the only favour he did the home team all afternoon, led to Crouch's equaliser midway through the first half and Paul Hart's team never looked back.
For all Everton's failings, this was a very impressive display by the home side, who would have slipped into the bottom three if they had lost.
Hart said: 'The players have proved how much desire they have to stay in this league. We were all over the place in the first five minutes, but credit to the lads, they got it together, steadied themselves and started to play.
'Everton's recent record shows the magnitude of our performance. I thought we were excellent.'
That was pushing it a bit, as was Hart's assertion that centre halves Sylvain Distin and Sol Campbell were 'magnificent'.
In truth, both looked a shadow of the players who anchored last season's FA Cup win and after a nervy first half were let off the hook by Jo and Louis Saha, whose performance must have had the visiting fans yearning for the weeks when they did not have any fit strikers.
Everton manager David Moyes rightly felt that his team failed to capitalise on the early lead given to them by Baines.
Distin was harshly judged to have fouled Saha on the edge of the area and Baines curled the free-kick not so much over the wall as past it, sending the ball in off David James's left-hand post.
Rise and shine: Peter Crouch (centre) rises highest to score the winning goal
The Portsmouth crowd, who had questioned Walton's ability to referee, had cause to soften their stance in the 22nd minute. He decided right back Glen Johnson's shot with his swinger of a left foot could only have gone so far wide with the aid of a deflection.
The initial corner was cleared but Niko Kranjcar clipped the ball back into the area, Johnson nodded it across goal and Crouch headed firmly into the corner of the net from close range.
'It wasn't a corner,' said Moyes. When it was suggested that you still have to defend set-pieces better, however they come about, the Everton boss agreed, but added: 'You don't have to if they are not given.'
It was an uncharacteristically meek response from the usually spiky Scot and his team's second-half display was just as insipid.
Moyes said: 'I always felt we were lacking that little bit of spirit and punch throughout the game.'
He was at a loss to explain why, but you suspect he had a little bit more to say to his players afterwards.
Portsmouth 2 Everton 1
Doing it for kicks: Hermann Hreidarsson and Joleon Lescott battle for the ball
Portsmouth, driven on by man-of-the-match Sean Davis, threatened to score only once, when Tim Howard saved from David Nugent, until Younes Kaboul forced a corner. Davis swung the ball to the back post and Crouch was there again to head home.
Davis later hit the post with a superb drive, but victory was never in doubt once Crouch claimed his third goal in two games and his 50th in the Premier League, a competition in which Portsmouth can now be much more confident of featuring next season.
PORTSMOUTH (4-4-1-1): James; Kaboul, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson; Johnson, Mullins, Davis, Nugent (Kanu 74min); Kranjcar; Crouch.
Subs (not used): Begovic, Pamarot, Utaka, Hughes, Basinas, Belhadj.
Booked: Hreidarsson, Kaboul.
EVERTON (4-1-3-2): Howard; Jacobsen (Gosling 86), Jagielka, Lescott, Baines; P Neville; Osman, Fellani, Pienaar; Saha, Jo (Rodwell 90).
Subs (not used): Nash, Castillo, Agard, Baxter, Wallace.
Booked: Osman.
Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire).
Staying in the Premier League clearly matters more than dreams of the Champions League.
There is no other way to explain the limp Everton performance in the second half of this game which allowed Portsmouth to take charge and come from behind to earn a vital victory when Peter Crouch headed his second goal with 15 minutes remaining.
The visitors, beaten only by Manchester United in their previous 18 games, had seemed set fair for a win and a tilt at the top four when Leighton Baines scored a fourth-minute free-kick.
But a poor decision by referee Peter Walton to award Portsmouth a corner, almost the only favour he did the home team all afternoon, led to Crouch's equaliser midway through the first half and Paul Hart's team never looked back.For all Everton's failings, this was a very impressive display by the home side, who would have slipped into the bottom three if they had lost.
Hart said: 'The players have proved how much desire they have to stay in this league. We were all over the place in the first five minutes, but credit to the lads, they got it together, steadied themselves and started to play.
'Everton's recent record shows the magnitude of our performance. I thought we were excellent.'
That was pushing it a bit, as was Hart's assertion that centre halves Sylvain Distin and Sol Campbell were 'magnificent'.
In truth, both looked a shadow of the players who anchored last season's FA Cup win and after a nervy first half were let off the hook by Jo and Louis Saha, whose performance must have had the visiting fans yearning for the weeks when they did not have any fit strikers.
Everton manager David Moyes rightly felt that his team failed to capitalise on the early lead given to them by Baines.
Distin was harshly judged to have fouled Saha on the edge of the area and Baines curled the free-kick not so much over the wall as past it, sending the ball in off David James's left-hand post.
Rise and shine: Peter Crouch (centre) rises highest to score the winning goal The Portsmouth crowd, who had questioned Walton's ability to referee, had cause to soften their stance in the 22nd minute. He decided right back Glen Johnson's shot with his swinger of a left foot could only have gone so far wide with the aid of a deflection.
The initial corner was cleared but Niko Kranjcar clipped the ball back into the area, Johnson nodded it across goal and Crouch headed firmly into the corner of the net from close range.
'It wasn't a corner,' said Moyes. When it was suggested that you still have to defend set-pieces better, however they come about, the Everton boss agreed, but added: 'You don't have to if they are not given.'
It was an uncharacteristically meek response from the usually spiky Scot and his team's second-half display was just as insipid.
Moyes said: 'I always felt we were lacking that little bit of spirit and punch throughout the game.'
He was at a loss to explain why, but you suspect he had a little bit more to say to his players afterwards.
Portsmouth 2 Everton 1Doing it for kicks: Hermann Hreidarsson and Joleon Lescott battle for the ball
Portsmouth, driven on by man-of-the-match Sean Davis, threatened to score only once, when Tim Howard saved from David Nugent, until Younes Kaboul forced a corner. Davis swung the ball to the back post and Crouch was there again to head home.
Davis later hit the post with a superb drive, but victory was never in doubt once Crouch claimed his third goal in two games and his 50th in the Premier League, a competition in which Portsmouth can now be much more confident of featuring next season.
PORTSMOUTH (4-4-1-1): James; Kaboul, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson; Johnson, Mullins, Davis, Nugent (Kanu 74min); Kranjcar; Crouch.
Subs (not used): Begovic, Pamarot, Utaka, Hughes, Basinas, Belhadj.
Booked: Hreidarsson, Kaboul.
EVERTON (4-1-3-2): Howard; Jacobsen (Gosling 86), Jagielka, Lescott, Baines; P Neville; Osman, Fellani, Pienaar; Saha, Jo (Rodwell 90).
Subs (not used): Nash, Castillo, Agard, Baxter, Wallace.
Booked: Osman.
Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire).
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