West Ham 2 Portsmouth 4: Portsmouth overwhelmed an under-strength West Ham side to bank three precious points on Harry Redknapp's return to Upton Park.
The Pompey boss had not taken a team to the ground since the Hammers fired him in May 2001 and the relegation-haunted side he now presides over had not previously won away from Fratton Park in the Premiership since October.
But today fortune was smiling on a man who is battling against successive top flight demotions as it proved to be the perfect time to take on Alan Pardew’s side.
Fellow strugglers Birmingham and West Brom had feared as much and the Hammers boss turned his pre-match admission that first picks would be rested ahead of Monday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City into reality.
Pompey went in at the break with the match already won thanks to goals from Lomana LuaLua, Sean Davis and Pedro Mendes.
Walker was beaten in the 18th minute as no defender cut out Matthew Taylor’s cross from the left and LuaLua gleefully hammered the ball into the roof of the net.
A dive at O’Neil’s feet was soon required but again Walker was picking the ball out of the net when Sean Davis took down Brian Priske’s delivery from the right and blasted home as the Hammers defence watched.
That spurred the home side into some sort of response but when Nigel Reo-Coker’s shot from the edge of the box had the beating of Dean Kiely, LuaLua - of all people — was there on the line to block.
Kiely saved from Sheringham after the veteran had curled a free-kick narrowly wide but Mendes had the ultimate response when he fired a screamer past the startled Walker from 25 yards out.
Pardew unsurprisingly made changes at the break with Clarke and Katan replaced by Yossi Benayoun and Marlon Harewood.
The newcomers both made for a flank each and their arrival did pep up the home side, especially when Harewood saw a drive from the right corner of the box smack against the crossbar, with Kiely nowhere.
Sheringham, the former Pompey man who turns 40 next month, pulled one back in the 69th minute, firing smartly into the roof of the net after Paul Konchesky’s drive from the left had aped Harewood’s effort by also hitting the woodwork, a post this time.
But there was no way Pompey were to be denied and substitute Svetoslav Todorov, who had replaced the lacktre Benjani just before the hour, punished his former club in the 76th minute with the simplest of finishes after LuaLua had set him up in front of goal with some byline trickery.
PA
