Report by Joe Broadfoot

The swirling wind probably didnt help Pompeys passing game but then again neither did the absence of Igoe, who was out with a thigh injury. How he was missed!
Soley did his best to deputise in the number 11 shirt, but passes went astray without Igoe. The understanding was lacking and the crowd began to get agitated. They started to get on the back of the ex-Leek Town man, and his promising start evaporated as his nerves began to show. Having seen him bag two goals last week for the reserves, I can honestly say we havent seen the best of Soley yet.
The first goalscoring chance came in the 6th minute. A bouncing ball was missed by our central defence but Soley hooked clear before McCarthy could capitalise on our mistake. 2 minutes later, McCarthy almost scored again - this time his shot screamed past the post. It was another let off for Pompey.
Pompey didnt really create a lot of clear cut chances. Birmingham got players behind the ball and prevented Pompey from playing their normal free flowing football by congesting the midfield. Our best chance came in the 15th minute, when Aloisi and Claridge combined magnificently in midfield. Aloisi then ran at the Birmingham defence before pulling the ball on to his favoured left foot and letting fly. It was struck with such ferocity that Poole, the Birmingham keeper, did well to palm it out. Claridge would have buried the rebound had he not been ruled offside.
2 minutes later, Pompey had their first penalty appeal turned down when McLoughlin seemed to have been tripped in the box, but the ref waved away the appeals. 7 minutes before half-time, a Grainger inswinging corner ended up in the back of our net but it was mysteriously disallowed. What a let off!
11 minutes into the second half, Ndlovu whose running was causing us all sorts of problems was clattered by Flahavan and a penalty was awarded. It was a bit harsh as Flahavan definitely went for the ball. But to be fair, it was a one-on-one and Flahavan took Ndlovu out. In that respect, he was lucky not to get a red card. O'Connor took the spot kick sending Flahavan the wrong way as he blasted into the top right.
At this stage, Alan Ball made a double substitution bringing on Phillips and Hillier for Awford and Soley. Phillips immediately made an impact on the right wing sending in some telling crosses. The second Pompey penalty appeal was turned down in the 18th minute of the second half when Aloisi seemed to have been fouled.
Of the two sides, Birmingham still looked the more dangerous. Our formation had changed to 4-3-3 and we looked vulnerable to their counter-attacks. Flahavan had to save a Ndlovu toe-poke in the 20th minute and an Adebola header in the 28th, just to keep us in the game.
Durnin came on for Peron with 16 minutes to go, but Birmingham would not budge. Pompey piled on the pressure but still couldnt test Poole in the Birmingham goal. In injury time, Poole had to slide out to deny Durnin but the real threat came at the other end where substitute Forster smashed a shot against the post.
Birmingham then employed every time-wasting ploy in the book to ensure they got all three points. The ref blew up early. Maybe he thought we'd never score.