Sunderland 1 Portsmouth 1

Dec 13 2009 by James Hunter, Sunday Sun

LISTEN to the boos ringing around the Stadium of Light at full-time, and you could be forgiven for thinking Sunderland had lost.

It certainly felt that way, after Younes Kaboul’s injury-time equaliser deprived the Black Cats of what should have been the easiest three points they have collected all season.

But, even against a dreadfully poor Portsmouth side, the fear was that Darren Bent’s 10th goal of the season midway through the first half was too slender a lead to protect.

At 1-0, a moment of individual magic or one defensive mistake is all it takes to wipe out 90 minutes of hard graft.

And it was the latter, a momentary defensive lapse, that cost Sunderland dear. A 93rd-minute corner not dealt with, a shot parried by the keeper and a rebound slammed home. Two points lost.

Kaboul - a one-time transfer target of Sunderland’s when he was at Spurs - ripped off his shirt and celebrated wildly with the small band of Pompey fans who had made the long trip from the South Coast.

The Frenchman was rewarded for his troubles with a red card for a second bookable offence but he and his team-mates were not worried about that - they had one more precious point in the bag to help their fight against relegation.