Report by Ben Davis

1999 has gone well so far for Pompey. They knocked Nottingham Forest out of the cup and then earned a creditable draw at Watford. Now they have beaten high riding Hudddersfield and have kept three successive lean sheets. Before the game fans paraded a coffin down Goldsmith Avenue in protest to the current going on's at the club. In the ground the fans tried to hold a ten minutes silence, but that was broken up after just 3 minutes when Steve Claridge struck the only goal of the game.
Alan McLoughlin's injury at Watford meant a return to the side for David Hillier. With Andy Thomson moving to Bristol Rovers, Russell Perrett also returned to take the departed defender's place. Huddersfield were without ex-Pompey midfielder Barry Horne and talented winger Ben Thornley.
In the silence, Pompey made the perfect start to bring the crowd to life. Igoe found Claridge on the edge of the area and he managed to wriggle past a number of defenders before curling a fine shot low past Vaesen. That was the signal for Pompey to charge forward with Peron and Robinson both getting in long range shots which didn't miss the target by much.
The visitors briefly came back before Claridge dazzled the crowd with some fantastic skill. He picked up the ball on the left before waltzing past a defender and racing towards goal. The space in front of him opened up but his attempted shot from the edge of the box screwed wide.
Pompey were in total control with Hillier running the midfield alongside the skilful duo of Igoe and Peron. Despite their bright attacking play Pompey never actually created a clear cut chance and the had to thank Petterson for preservation of the lead. The tall figure of Allison rose above Perrett to meet Phillips's cross, but Petterson got down to turn the header behind for a corner. A couple of minutes later the Aussie keeper did well to turn Edwards's shot behind as Huddersfield piled on the pressure.
In between those two saves Pompey were grateful to Simpson when he hacked away Hessey's header off the line. Pompey though composed themselves and could have scored a couple of more goals shortly after. Claridge intercepted Vaesen's poor kick out, but the attempted shot flew just over whilst in the 38th Claridge's shot from the right side of the box was deflected behind for another corner.
In injury time Robinson slipped Claridge into the box and the striker's shot was brilliantly saved by Vaesen as he palmed the shot away to safety.
Pompey started the second half just as brightly as they had started the first. This time Peron skipped his way down the left, but took the ball too far and was tackled by Phillips. A few minutes later the referee was in hot water with the home crowd when he awarded Pompey a free kick after Simpson had broken free of the player who was fouling him, and so he turned down a good advantage.
Just like in recent matches Pompey's defence was standing firm as Huddersfield went in search of an equaliser to keep their play-off hopes alive. However, things weren't running that smoothly with Perrett and Vlachos both having uncertain moments. To Vlachos' credit he was having a better half as he regained his aerial supremacy after a couple of dodgy moments in the first half.
In the 54th minute Claridge's cross from Igoe's pass was met by Hillier, but he was slightly put off by Hessey and the chance went. Still Pompey battled away with Simpson and Robinson continuing to get forward as much as possible. The next good chance fell to Nightingale who received the ball in space and set off on a run towards goal. His inexperience showed when he lost out to Gray.
The scores might have been level when Allison for once got between Whitbread and Perrett. Fortunately for Pompey the striker horribly poked his shot well wide. Then two pieces of skill raised the entertainment value of the game. First Hillier brought the ball down before knocking the ball through his opponents legs and then finding Robinson. The second piece of skill was even better. Claridge managed to control Petterson's huge clearance first time and then beat his marker to break away down the right.
That attack fizzled out and when Huddersfield brought on two extra strikers, adding to the two they already had, Pompey knew they would have to scrap for the win. They did that with tremendous commitment. They had a major scare first though when one of Huddersfield's subs Facey slipped past his marker in the area and Pompey were fortunate that his low cross fell straight to Vlachos.
The final minute saw some of the most courageous defending this season. When Facey's pull back reached Johnson a goal looked certain. Petterson somehow pushed that away, but only to Stewart who looked just as certain to score with Pompey's keeper still on the floor. Perrett though threw himself at the ball and managed to deflect it away, but only as far as Allison. This time though Vlachos came in to block the shot. The ball fell out to Igoe as a massive roar of relief rolled around the stadium.
Whilst the fans in the North Stand stood applauding Pompey's defensive efforts the final whistle went to an even greater roar. This was a vital win and if Pompey can keep up this effort then relegation should not concern anyone at the club. The players can now look forward to next week's game against Leeds.