Kanu goal wins FA Cup for Portsmouth

(reuters)

Nwankwo Kanu scored a first-half goal Saturday for Portsmouth to beat Cardiff 1-0 and win the FA Cup final for the first time since 1939.

The Nigerian striker punished a fumble by Cardiff goalkeeper Peter Enckelman in the 37th minute of the 127th FA Cup final to give manager Harry Redknapp his first major trophy in 25 years of coaching.

"Fantastic. For everybody, especially my family," said Redknapp, whose sister-in-law Pat Lampard — mother of Chelsea's Frank Lampard — died of cancer last month. "The fans, the players. It's been a difficult year off the field so this is a dream come true. We're a very close family — it's for all my grandchildren and everybody. The players are all great, I love them all."

Bidding to become the first lower-league team to win the famous trophy since West Ham beat Arsenal in 1980, League Championship club Cardiff threatened occasionally. But Kanu had one of the worst misses in the world's oldest domestic cup competition when he missed an open net in the 22nd and hit the post instead.

Cardiff's only FA Cup triumph was in 1927 and the Welsh club hasn't been in the top flight of English soccer since 1962. But Dave Jones' team gave the Premier League's eighth-place finisher an early scare when Paul Parry got past Sol Campbell only for Pompey goalkeeper David James to race off his line and block his shot with his legs.

But Portsmouth should have gone ahead in the 22nd when Kanu finished off a slick move down the left by twisting past Glenn Loovens and Enckelman. The lanky Nigerian was left with an open goal but, from an acute angle, hit the outside of the post.

Kanu, who scored Portsmouth's goal in the semifinal victory over West Bromwich Albion in the same stadium, made up for it 12 minutes later with some major help from Enckelman.

The goalkeeper fumbled a cross from the right by John Utaka and the ball bobbed up for Kanu to stab it over the line to the agony of the Cardiff fans behind the goal.

Loovens had the ball in the Portsmouth net in first-half injury time with a lob but referee Mike Dean had already whistled for a foul because he had controlled the ball with his arm.

In the second half, Portsmouth appealed for a penalty when Loovens appeared to block a shot from Kanu with his arm as Pompey chased a second goal.

Aaron Ramsey, a 17-year-old Welshman tipped by manager Dave Jones as a star of the future, had to watch the first hour from the substitute's bench. Jones then sent him on to boost the offense, but it was Portsmouth who went nearer to scoring when substitute Dave Nugent fired an angled shot which Enckelman pushed round his near post.