Bruce's boys crush Pompey
Birmingham City 2 Portsmouth 0 [ Saturday 27 September 2003 ]
Both sides started off the game scrappily - however a frenetic 5 mintues could have seen the home side at least 3-0 in the lead.
It took an immaculate dead ball delivery by Stan Lazardis which was drilled home just inside the far post to unravel Pompey's characterstic water tight defence.
Pompey were caught napping as Clemence was allowed to slide in and sidefoot home the opener beyond a flailing Shaka Hislop.
Just 2 mintues later and Christophe Dugarry tormented the Pompey defence with sublime skill - but his brilliantly placed pull-back was well and truly beyond the advancing and wide-open Lazaridis. Moments later the despair increased in intensity for the home side as Dugarry rocketed a firm header from a Lazaridis corner goal bound, only to be denied off the line by ex-Villa star Steve Stone.
Pompey were lucky to still be in the running three quarters of the way through the first-half - chances were hard to come by as the visitors were up against, without doubt, the most defensively tight squad in the entire Premiership, proven by the impressive stat of four clean sheets in the previous five games.
Left-winger Matthew Taylor skillfully hurtled down the wing to edge his way into the Blues' rearguard, delivering a trade mark piercing low ball into the area, unfortunately a charging Teddy Sheringham flicked the ball harmlessly wide.
Pompey did manage to carve open the Blues' defence five mintues before the break with a Sheringham pass from a Sebastian Schemmel cross, which fell into the path of an advanceing Yakubu Ayegbini. The Nigerian went onto subtly round Maik Taylor and slide the ball into an empty net, but the linesman's flag was already raised before it had crossed the line, much to Pompey's disappointment - a cruel traversty of justice as the Yak was clearly onside!
The coup de grace was sounded five minutes after the interval with Dugarry finding Clemence, whose ball was picked up by a lively Lazaridis who then placed his shot past an advancing Hislop.
Portsmouth fought bravely back, but Alexei Smertin's stinging drive, which was smartly saved by Taylor and a thunderous effort from Sheringham, which cracked the right-hand post, were in vain as Pompey suffered their first away defeat of the season.
Birmingham City (4-4-2)
Taylor, Johnson, Cunningham, Upson, Clapham, Dunn, Savage, Clemence, Lazaridis (Tebily 84), Dugarry (Cisse 71), Forssell (Figueroa 87).
Subs (not used) Bennett, Morrison
Booked Cisse.
Portsmouth (4-4-2)
Hislop, Schemmel, de Zeeuw, Stefanovic, Zivkovic, Stone, Faye (Sherwood 65), Taylor (Roberts 55), Smertin, Sheringham, Ayegbini.
Subs (not used) Wapenaar, Foxe, Primus.
Booked Faye, Sherwood, Sheringham.