Jermain Defoe shines on Portsmouth debut
By Duncan White
Sport.Telegraph, 3rd February 2008
Jermain Defoe, dropped by Juande Ramos, discarded by Fabio Capello, but
in Harry Redknapp he has found a manager who believes. Redknapp brought
Defoe to West Ham as a teenager and the Portsmouth manager has never
wavered in his admiration for a striker whose career stuttered and stalled
when it should have been gathering momentum.
Signed for £9 million from Tottenham with just five minutes left
before the transfer deadline closed, Defoe was quick to work. Trailing
to Nicolas Anelka's first Premier League goal for Chelsea, Defoe, played
onside by Juliano Belletti, collected Milan Baros's flicked header and
calmly slotted the ball beyond Petr Cech. Three days into his new job
and he is back to doing what he does best.
"He needs to play, he needs to score," Redknapp said. "It was good for him
to get the goal and he had a couple of other chances, too. Maybe if he had
been sharp he would have stuck in the winner. That'll come when he gets
games under his belt."
Defoe thrice came close to scoring that winner, a goal that would have
broken Chelsea's 48-year unbeaten run against Portsmouth. Cech was swift
out to deny him the first time but he leant back when teed up by Lassana
Diarra and shot wide of the near post after cutting inside Claude Makelele.
"I'm a little bit disappointed not to get the second," Defoe said. "But
I'll take the goal and build on this. I really enjoyed it out there."
Chelsea came just as close to taking the three points in a thrillingly
frantic second half. They had opened the scoring with a superb counter-attack,
Shaun Wright-Phillips playing in Florent Malouda down the left for the
Frenchman to send in a deep cross. Joe Cole calmly side-footed the ball
to the on-rushing Anelka and he met it on the full, volleying into the
bottom corner.
Niko Kranjcar had headed a Michael Ballack header off the line in the first
half and, with the scores at 1-1, Wright-Phillips lobbed wide from a fine
Ballack diagonal pass. Belletti had the chance to make up for his role in
the Portsmouth goal but was denied by the excellent David James after Joe
Cole's clever approach play. It was frustrating for Avram Grant and his
first return to the club where he was director of football ended his hopes
of securing a club record 10th straight win.
They are six points behind leaders Arsenal but have reinforcements on the
horizon. Either Michael Essien or John Obi Mikel will be back after Ghana
play Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations, while Frank Lampard is fit and
ready. The influential Ricardo Carvalho, who is suspended, will also return.
Portsmouth have their own personnel on the way back from Ghana, but the
status of Benjani Mwaruwari remains fraught. Portsmouth hope he will
complete his £9 million move to Manchester City in the coming days.
"The big loser in all this has been Benji," Redknapp said. "You have never
met a nicer boy in your life. He's sitting up there in a hotel, in limbo.
It's sad, he doesn't deserve that."
Portsmouth deserved more than their solitary goal. Belletti clearly
handled in the area in the first half and Noe Pamarot headed against the
top of the far post from the ensuing Kranjcar corner. It was impressive
from an improving Portsmouth. Baros was full of running in his second
game since joining on loan from Lyon, while Diarra is rapidly earning
cult-hero status among the support. "Absolutely superb," was Redknapp's
verdict on the Frenchman's exemplary performance in the middle of
midfield.
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