Report by Ben Davis

He may be close to 38 years-of-age, but Alan Knight showed the home fans that he isn't finished just yet by producing some class saves to help Pompey to a tense victory. The goal came from the penalty spot after Claridge had been fouled by former team-mate Keith Curle who was then sent off for bad language.
Flahavan's calf strain paved the way for Knight's return and there were a few more changes to the side which drew at Bristol City. Andy Awford was unluckily suspended, so Andy Thomson returned after several weeks out with an ankle injury. Russell Perrett was also ruled out which prompted Ball to switch to a 4-4-2 system. That meant Martin Phillips made his full debut. Northern Ireland U21 international David Waterman got a place on the bench after a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury. Wolves were without the legendary Steve Ball, talented defender Dean Richards and young Irish star Robbie Keane.
Sadly the game got out of control from the off with referee Paul Danson losing the plot completely. He let some nasty tackles pass before he amazingly waving play on after Aloisi was clearly hauled down by Curle when through on goal.
It was Wolves who had the first chance in the 7th minute when, from a cross, Knight and Thomson collided. The ball fell nicely out to Robinson whose shot was brilliantly pushed away by Knight who had just got up off the floor. As in recent matches Pompey had lots of possession but weren't doing much with it and almost paid the price in the 9th minute.
A ball forward found Connolly in the area and fortunately for Pompey his shot was poor with the ball ending up in the away fans in the Milton End. Mr Danson then booked McLoughlin for nothing before a mad scramble in the Wolves area almost lead to the opening goal. Phillip's corner has headed back well by Aloisi, but shots from Whitbread and Thomson were somehow blocked. Thorgersen's 35-yarder from the clearance flew well wide.
The visitor's still looked threatening and an excellent Whitbread tackle and a Knight save kept Pompey in the game. A nasty clash of heads forced the game to be held up for a few minutes with Pompey's McLoughlin needed treatment. A couple of minutes after the restart Igoe was booked for backchat after his pass struck Mr Danson and deflected away from his intended target, McLoughlin.
Phillips had a good chance to set up Aloisi when he played a neat one-two with Claridge. His cross got past Stowell, but Aloisi couldn't quite get the ball to sit nicely and the chance went. The Aussie striker got in a better shot in the 35th minute after neat play by Igoe and Claridge. The little midfielder chipped a delightful ball over the Wolves defence to Claridge whose good cross was volley inches over by Aloisi.
John Durnin replaced Jeff Peron at the start of the second half and after a minute Johnny Lager was booked for a horrible tackle on Robinson. In the 49th minute Knight came to Pompey's rescue with another blinding save. A goal looked certain when Corica beat the offside trap to go through on goal. His low shot was a good one, but Knight did superbly to get down and save the effort. The Wolves man was left holding his head in his hands in front of a relieved Fratton End.
Two minutes later Pompey had a good chance to take the lead. A Phillips corner missed the big guys in the box, no-one picked up Whitbread though whose first time volley flashed over. Wolves former Ipswich midfielder Sedgeley then wasted two opportunities to put the visitors in front.
The Pompey defence were at sleep when they allowed Sedgeley through on goal after a Durnin error. Fortunately his shot just went the wrong side of the post. In the 61st minute he got through on the left side of the area, but Knight managed to block the shot with his legs. Five minutes later Pompey had the perfect chance to score first, via the penalty spot.
Claridge received the ball with his back to goal in the area before cleverly spinning Curle who brought the Pompey man down. The Wolves captain was so angry that he took his protests to far and was sent-off. MCLOUGHLIN showed that he is still the best by placing the ball high past Stowell.
With the visitors now down to 10-men Pompey had the opportunity to wrap the game up. However, in typical fashion, they made life hard for themselves. In the 71st minute Claridge had to score when he picked up a cross 6-yards out, with no defender in sight, but Stowell's outstretched leg kept the weak shot out. The loose ball fell to Phillips who should have done better then just hitting it over.
Passes went astray and increasingly Wolves put Pompey on the back foot. They looked certain scorers when Knight completely missed a cross leaving his goal vacant. The ball fell out to a waiting Gomez whose shot was somehow blocked by Simpson. Back came Pompey with Claridge setting Aloisi free in the area, but the Aussie surprisingly fired badly over.
The clock strangely ticked on for longer than usual, but their was a clear sigh of relief around the ground when the final whistle came. Why Pompey suffered like they did is a mystery. They had enough chances to seal the game and could have been punished for not taking them. At least a goal wasn't conceded in the final 10 minutes like in recent games. Special praise should go to Knight who has shown that he is still Mr Old Reliable with a fine performance when Pompey needed it most.