Reddy delays Pompey party

Portsmouth 1 Sheffield Wednesday

The culmination of Portsmouth's remarkable rise to the Premiership under Harry Redknapp's pragmatic management will have to wait until at least Tuesday. An amazingly resilient Sheffield Wednesday ruined the celebration preparations with a curious injury-time goal by Michael Reddy that took them off the bottom and Portsmouth off the top.

Pompey fans had been singing "Bye-bye to the Nation-wide'' for several days.For months now, the question had been not whether they would be promoted but whether Leicester would beat them to the First Division title. All that needed to be done was to overcome a Wednesday team that had won once away all season.

Wednesday, of course, had their own pressing agenda, with safety from relegation not entirely out of the question. And they began by defying the odds, pressing solidly in midfield and getting Lloyd Owusu and Shefki Kuqi into position more often than Portsmouth located Lee Bradbury, who had been brought back from his loan period with Wednesday earlier in the week, and his partner, Svetoslav Todorov.

Eventually, after 20 frustrating minutes Paul Merson's eye for a well-placed pass gave Portsmouth their chance. He found Todorov, who tried to turn the ball across goal. Kevin Pressman got a hand in the way, but the ball fell to Bradbury, who hit it in to the biggest roar of theseason.

The party should have been under way shortly after half-time, but Pressman managed to stop a goal-bound shot from Bradbury, who was revelling in his return home (he comes from the Isle of Wight and is a Pompey fan). Wednesday offered competition, threatening the Portsmouth goal withaerial attacks that kept substitute defender Arjan De Zeeuw and Hayden Foxe occupied.

When Portsmouth did break away, nervousness gnawed at their finishing. Todorov fed a through-ball to Nigel Quashie, whose blast of a shot was just blocked by Pressman.

Wednesday wonpossession in the 76th minute and stunned the crowd as the announcer was asking them not to invade the pitch. Primus headed a centre high over his own goal area, Shaka Hislop failed to reach it and Ashley Westwood, tireless throughout, scrambled the ball in to give them a lifeline that was reinforced in the 90th minute.

Redknapp described the winning goal as a "farce", and he had a point. The referee awarded a free-kick near the half-way line but told Steve Stone to move the ball back. As the official turned away, Stone rolled the ball to Gianluca Festa who, confused, hit it straight at Reddy, who ran upfield and beat Hislop. As Redknapp pointed out furiously, Reddy had not been 10 yards from the free-kick. "The referee made a big, big mistake," added Redknapp... and so did the organisers of last night parties.

Portsmouth 1
Bradbury 20

Sheffield Wednesday 2
Westwood 76, Reddy 90

Half-time: 1-0 Attendance: 19,524