Portsmouth 2 Sunderland 1

Jan 24 2010 by James Hunter, Sunday Sun

WHEN Steve Bruce promised a reaction to Sunderland’s 7-2 mauling at Chelsea, this was the last thing he had in mind.

Far from being stung into making amends for their defeat against the league leaders, Sunderland showed they can be brushed aside by the basement club too.

At least at Stamford Bridge, Sunderland could hide behind a lengthy injury list and the quality of the opposition, but at Fratton Park there were no such excuses as the Black Cats crashed out of the FA Cup.

Portsmouth are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, their players are frequently paid late, they are bottom of the Premier League pile, their fans held a pre-match protest against the club’s shadowy new owners yesterday and boss Avram Grant could manage to name just five out of a possible seven subs.

The words “there for the taking” spring to mind. And yet, despite taking the lead early in the game, still Sunderland conspired to lose.

Darren Bent fired them in front but goals either side of half-time from John Utaka – both of which were defensive disasters from Sunderland’s point of view – put Pompey in the fifth round draw.

Sunderland may well have been unfairly denied a late equaliser, with David Healy convinced his shot had crossed the line before Kevin Prince-Boateng cleared, but in all honesty a replay would have been more than they deserved. Quite simply, Portsmouth wanted the win more.

Bruce tried to put a brave face on defeat, saying he “couldn’t fault his players’ attitude”.

A few of the 1,500-plus fans who made the long trek to the south coast might beg to differ.

So, Sunderland are now out of the cup, but that is really just a sideshow. Everyone knows that the Premier League is the be-all and end-all.

And the real issue is, just what has happened to this side, which earlier in the season drew at Man U and beat Liverpool and Arsenal on Wearside?

Back then, Sunderland were flying high and their league position was measured by how many points they were behind the top four.

Now it is measured in terms of how many points above the relegation zone they are. Answer: not many.

And after woeful back-to-back performances, Bruce faces a massive task to pick up his players ahead of Wednesday’s game against a resurgent Everton at the Stadium of Light. Bruce should, at least, have a few more players back from injury. Tough-tackling midfielder Lee Cattermole, in particular, cannot return quickly enough.

But Sunderland had three key men – Craig Gordon, Kieran Richardson and Michael Turner – back in their side yesterday and that didn’t seem to do them much good.

After two months out with a broken arm, Gordon returned in goal at the expense of Marton Fulop, who did not even travel to Portsmouth, with Northern Ireland Under-21 keeper Trevor Carson on the bench.