Football Days

Fratton Park - Portsmouth FC

Portsmouth 3-0 Sheffield United

20/04/13 - League One

Att: 18,433

With the season coming to a close there aren't many more free weekends left for visiting grounds so with this weekend freed up by Aston Villa's trip to Old Trafford being moved to a Monday night I was determined to make the most of it. Fratton Park is a ground that has always eluded me, even though Fratton is a direct train from where I live.

Portsmouth have endured complete and utter turmoil over the past few seasons and last week their relegation to the basement division was confirmed. This came as a surprise to no one and the real news of the week was that the Pompey Supporters' Trust had finally completed their takeover of the club and with it the future of the club is secure.

I managed to snap up a seat in the Fratton End shortly before it sold out. Portsmouth were set to play in front of their biggest crowd of the season as they welcomed promotion chasing Sheffield United to the south coast - The Blades knew that they had to win the match to have any chance of finishing in the top two and came into the match as strong favourites. To tell you the truth, I think the Pompey supporters were at the match for a party with the result baring no significance whatsoever.

Unusually for me I was up bright and early and after getting some breakfast in town I boarded the 10:45 direct to Fratton, which pulled in after doing a magical mystery tour of obscure Hampshire towns just after midday. It was a beautiful day and perhaps not the best day to wear a black jacket to a football match, but I persevered with it and after picking up my ticket and having a look around the ground I made my way to the Shepherds Crook for a couple of pints before the game.

The ground itself is visible from the train as you pull into the station with the four floodlight pylons dominating the sky line. It's a sight that's rare when visiting football grounds these days and in truth the whole ground is a bit of a throw back with character in abundance. One thing that struck me as I walked around was the amount of graffiti on the back of the stands and in the concourses. It's on a level that I haven't seen since I visited Napoli's San Paolo back in 2007.

It's been a well documented and dramatic fall from grace for Portsmouth who won the FA Cup just four seasons ago and gave AC Milan a run for their money in the UEFA Cup a season later. But Portsmouth's history extends much further than their time in the Premier League. Their first piece of major silverware came in 1939 as Portsmouth defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 at Wembley in front of just shy of 100,000 people. The outbreak of World War II put the FA Cup on hiatus and due to this Portsmouth have the dubious distinction of holding the FA Cup for the longest consecutive time before Derby lifted the trophy in 1946.

Portsmouth's momentum wasn't lost after the war, if anything it was an advantage for them as a large number of footballers had moved to the town to work at the docks. This allowed them to have the pick of the best players and were crowned league champions for the first time in 1948/49 and they repeated the feat a season later. It took 58 years for the next major silverware to come as Harry Redknapp lead the club to the 2008 FA Cup, beating Cardiff City 1-0 at Wembley.

Financial problems soon caught up with the club following that triumph and in 2010 they became the first Premier League team to go into administration, with their nine point penalty all but confirming relegation. Remarkably the club still made it to the FA Cup final that year after beating Spurs in the semi-final, but Chelsea beat them in the final to deny a fairy tale ending to a turbulent season.

The club had a difficult first season in the Championship but managed to finish in 16th place, however the following season saw the club go into administration again and face another points deduction. Pompey's fate was sealed with a 2-1 loss to Derby County, sending the club into the third tier for the first time in thirty years.

With the club crippled by debt the entire first team squad left the club in the summer and there's been a revolving door at Fratton Park all season with no fewer than fifty-five different players pulling on the blue shirt for the club this season. As it stood before this match 55% of Portmsouth's league goals this season were scored by players who are no longer with the club. Some of the stats are absolutely crazy. It wasn't a surprise that the team struggled in the league and endured a club record twenty-three match winless run which was ended away at Crewe.

Despite their problems Portsmouth came into this game on decent form, having only suffered one defeat in their last six, as promotion chasing Brentford scored two late goals to win 3-2 at Griffin Park the previous week. Sheffield United had everything to play for with automatic promotion still an outside possibility.

As I took my seat in the Fratton End there was a great atmosphere building with a sell out crowd expected. It almost seemed irrelevant that they were being relegated, the main focus was the fact that the future of the club looks secure for the first time in a long time. Not only that, but these fans now own their own club. Although I'd never visited Fratton Park I'm familiar with the city and I have to say that on my visits I get a real impression that it's a place where everyone supports the local team. You don't see many Man Utd or Chelsea shirts in the city centre, which is a rarity around here.

The players took to the field to rapturous applause, with the famous chant of "play up Pompey" ringing out from the Fratton End. It was the kind of atmosphere that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and it was genuinely heartwarming to see so many happy faces at the end of a horrendous few seasons for the club.

It's mad to think that this match was a Premier League fixture five years ago, but football is a bit mad and that's why we all love and hate it in equal measures. As the match got underway it was Sheffield United who looked the more threatening early on, but failed to produce any real clear cut opportunities. As time went on Portsmouth grew into the game, playing with a freedom and a confidence that was no doubt helped by relentless backing from the stands. It took twenty minutes for the opening goal to arrive as Patrick Agyemang's cross was headed home by Shaun Cooper. There was delight for the home fans and that delight doubled soon after when David Connolly beat The Blades' keeper at his near post to double the home side's lead.

Chants of "we're fucking brilliant!" rang out as Pompey took complete control of the match. It came as no surprise when Pompey scored their third with only thirty-two minutes on the clock. As Jed Wallace found the back of the net it dashed any hopes of Sheffield United finishing in the top two and there were significantly fewer of the 1,800 away fans left by the half time break.

With the game pretty much in the bag it was quite a flat second half without much incident. Sheffield United made a double substitution at half time but it didn't really change too much as Portsmouth comfortably saw the game out and had numerous opportunities to further their advantage.

There was a party atmosphere and in all honesty you'd have thought it was Pompey who were going for promotion and The Blades who were already doomed. Portsmouth were always on the front foot, comfortable on the ball and always looking to make things happen. Sheffield United struggled to string two passes together, created next to nothing and were well beaten in a match that they really should have won.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip and one of the best neutral matches that I've attended this season. Not only was the weather great, but the stadium itself is a great venue and home to a fantastic football club that can finally look to the future with some optimism. It seems mad that a club this size will be in League Two next season, but the Portsmouth fans don't seem that bothered about watching their team at that level. They're just happy to have a team to watch at all. It's true that the night is at it's darkest just before the dawn and I wish Portsmouth all the best as they embark on a new era.