Road to Wembley - Play up Pompey

West Bromwich Albion lasted just a round as our Road To Wembley team. However for long periods of their semi-final game against Premiership Portsmouth, the Baggies played the better football and controlled the game with veteran Kevin Phillips, Zoltan Gera and Roman Bednar all causing Portsmouth's defensive pair of Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin problems.

34-year old Phillips, who has scored goals for fun his whole career found plenty of space dropping deep and tested Pompey early on with a long-range shot just over the bar before a neat lay-off that ended with Zoltan Gera causing problems for a fumbling David James with a low shot.

Portsmouth were all at sea going forward, with Baros wasteful and Kanu barely contributing as Redknapp looking increasingly agitated on the sidelines.

But Pompey came out better second-half goal and 54th minute goal from Pompey's very own veteran KANU was enough to send Portsmouth through to their first FA Cup final in 69 years.
Ex-West Brom striker Kanu side-footed an easy chance to see off the Baggies after Dean Kiely had denied Milan Baros and Zoltan Gera had failed to clear. The replay did show that Baros looked to have handled in the build-up to the goal.

Later Baros missed a simple chance to seal the win and they were almost made to pay but Robert Koren's shot hit the bar and Ishmael Miller fired wide late on.

"You know what these officials are like, they tend to bottle it a little bit in these big games. I'm gutted, I don't think we deserved to lose. We can hold our heads up high, Portsmouth have been very lucky." - Kevin Phillips

West Brom: Kiely, Hoefkens, Albrechtsen, Clement, Robinson, Morrison (Brunt 60), Koren, Gera (Kim 75), Greening, Bednar (Miller 60), Phillips.

Subs Not Used: Danek, Pele.

Attendance: 83,584

Portsmouth will play Welsh sheep shaggers Cardiff in the FA Cup Final on May 17th at Wembley stadium.