Not all Doom and Gloom

Portsmouth 0 - 1 BORO

BORO's Christmas schedule had, until today, been filled with disappointment after defeats against West Ham and Birmingham City. But a rallied performance and another Tuncay goal handed BORO a shock three points away to Portsmouth.

BORO were down to the bare bones regarding fit players and Gareth Southgate found that his team picked itself with just 16 fit senior players to chose from. This meant that Mohamed Shawky, Robert Huth and Dong Gook Lee found themselves in the starting line up.

BORO went into the game looking for their first win of the Christmas period after losing 2-1 to West Ham and 3-0 away to Birmingham on Boxing day, whilst Portsmouth were looking to end a run of 450 minutes without scoring at Fratton Park, on the back of their goalless draw to Arsenal in mid-week

Many would have thought, therefore, that the game was poised to be a cracker and Pompey started fast, determined to put an instant end to their unimpressive goalscoring record. However wayward passing and even more wayward shooting explained a lot about why Portsmouth have struggled to score in recent weeks.

BORO showed that they weren't prepared to rush into the game and started to play the sort of composed football that Gareth Southgate has aimed for. With the mighty Robert Huth back in defence, BORO were happy to absorb the Portsmouth pressure and release Stewart Downing and former Pompey star Gary O'Neil down the wings in attack.

Both Downing and O'Neil were involved in the opening goal as Downing crossed to the far post where O'Neil volleyed the ball across David James leaving Tuncay to tap in his fourth goal in six games.

BORO then turned the game their way as a series of near misses with O'Neil, determined to score against his old club, narrowly hitting a free-kick over the bar and then Robert Huth missing a rare chance by the post.

Portsmouth continued to look unconvincing in their efforts and really gave Harry Redknapp a reason to add to that January shopping list of his, with pass after pass going astray and embarrassingly wayward shooting, Papa Bouba Diop with a real contender for miss of the season as he lobbed his effort, from less than ten yards, over the bar.

Matthew Taylor replaced Hermann Hreidarsson at half-time and seemed to make an instant impact as his early second half free-kick picked out Kanu who agonisingly struck the post. A sign, perhaps, that it wasn't going to be Portsmouth's day.

Dong Gook Lee looked on good form, deputising for the injured Jeremie Aliadiere, and he seemed fitter and stronger than previously this season, holding off Sol Campbell time after time and was presented with several early second half chances, which he failed to convert. But by far showing his determination to prove himself at BORO and certainly giving his best BORO performance since signing nearly a year ago.

Both sides seemed to drift from the early quality they had shown and the game withered out to desperation as BORO tried to increase their lead and Pompey fought for an equaliser.

BORO saw four players booked as they defended hard to hang on to their one goal lead and they battled to the final whistle to record a vital and, quite honestly, unexpected three points on the road and a win against a side that they have failed to beat at Fratton Park in the top-flight for over half of a century.

"People probably looked at us and thought we'd be rolled over at a place like Portsmouth but I was delighted by the attitude we showed." - BORO Boss Gareth Southgate

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BORO Blog BORO Man of the Match: Gary O'Neil

Photos & Quotes courtesy of BBC Sport (www.bbc.co.uk/sport) & SkySports (www.skysports.com/football)