Ecstasy you just can’t buy – or afford, in Pompey’s case

THE FA Cup has always been about misty-eyed memories of the way football used to be, a time when dreams were built on the pitch and not in the boardroom and when fairytales really did happen – even without billionaire benefactors.

And at Fratton Park on Saturday, just for a second, it felt like those halcyon days were back.

On the face of it, Portsmouth are a wreck, decimated by four different owners in the space of a year who have all failed to acknowledge a duty of care to look after one of the most famous old clubs in the game. But over 90 minutes in an FA Cup quarter-final against Birmingham City, all that was forgotten.

Frederic Piquionne’s two goals in the space of three second-half minutes mean Portsmouth, who overstretched themselves to win the FA Cup in 2008, only to suffer a spectacular fall from grace, are, against all the odds, going back to Wembley backed by some of the most passionate supporters in the sport.

Bottom of the Premier League, in administration and still under threat of a winding-up order from the British taxman, it is a remarkable achievement and under the circumstances it would not be unkind to suggest that the €734,000 reward that awaits Pompey in the semi-finals, made up of prize money and television revenue, should be their primary concern.

But manager Avram Grant did not once mention financial rewards in an emotional post-match press conference that demonstrated how a penniless south coast club has got under the skin of a man who not so long ago was paid by Roman Abramovich for leading out Chelsea in a Champions League final.

“This is what football is about,” he said. “People sometimes, with all the money and the business, forget what is the nature of football. The nature of football is what you see here in Portsmouth.

“To be with this team in Wembley, I think it’s amazing. You saw the emotions after the game; they speak for themselves. The fans were just incredible. They are the best in the country because I don’t know if other supporters can be behind their club in difficult days like this, it’s something I will keep for a long time.”

Grant’s next priority, however, is off the field because now Portsmouth must not only negotiate their way through administration and survive a winding-up order but persuade Premier League not to dock the club nine points – a punishment which would lead to certain relegation.

The process, however, is a political minefield. Supporters of the rule argue convincingly that Portsmouth have built their team and even their FA Cup run on the basis of players they have failed to pay for – and debts they have failed to honour. A form of financial cheating that puts Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘simulation’ in the shade.

But there is also a view that the deduction of points punishes players and fans rather than the incompetent businessmen who ran the club so badly and who have now long gone.

“I think they need to make a penalty against the people who did wrong,” said an impassioned Grant. “I’m not against it, I’m for it. But don’t hurt the people who keep the spirit of the game, who come to work and work for the team. Or the fans. Or me, even – I didn’t get paid as you know. We don’t need to be punished.

“I think it’s good for English football if this club stays alive because this club belongs to the community. Other clubs are like factories, they are not the same. That’s okay. But this club belongs to the community and we need to keep it. This is the basis of football. They need to think not about the rules but about players and fans. You must think of these people because they didn’t do anything wrong.”

The same cannot be said of referee Steve Bennett, whose main contribution to Saturday’s match was somehow failing to see Liam Ridgewell’s header crossing the line shortly after Birmingham went 2-0 down. On the day that FIFA announced it is scrapping plans for goal-line technology, it was a bitter pill to swallow for City, who feel they could have mounted a late comeback if the goal had been given.

The debate over that decision will last long into the future but even so the real story was still Portsmouth and their fairytale afternoon. Reality will no doubt hit home hard in the five weeks before the semi-finals are staged at Wembley in mid-April but Grant’s parting words were fair enough.

“Let us enjoy this moment,” he said. “Just for now.”

Match rating: *** – A miserable first half but a tremendous atmosphere swept Portsmouth to a fairytale victory in the end – the story was better than the football.

Referee: Steve Bennett 5 – His performance will be judged by his decision not to award a goal when Liam Ridgewell’s late header so clearly crossed the line.