Pompey´s little and large choke Stoke

October 5, 2008

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England’s little and large strike combination Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe scored the goals that saw Portsmouth beat visitors Stoke City 2-1 at Fratton Park on Sunday.

Crouch put Pompey ahead in the 25th minute with a stunning overhead kick set up by Defoe before Jamaica striker Ricardo Fuller equalised for the Potters in the 48th minute.

However, Defoe scored his sixth goal of the season just three minutes later to seal three points that move Portsmouth up to seventh in the Premier League table, while Stoke remain rooted in the bottom three.

The six feet, seven inches (2.01 metres) tall Crouch and the five feet, seven inches (1.70 metres) tall Defoe have scored 11 goals between them this season, making them one of the hottest strike partnerships in England.

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp switched from a 3-5-2 formation to 4-4-2, with midfielder Papa Bouba Diop replacing the suspended Lassana Diarra and Nadir Belhadj in for Noe Pamarot.

The Stoke squad has been hit by the flu bug, leaving former Pompey manager Tony Pulis without midfielder Salif Diao and goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.

Stoke were also without midfielder Liam Lawrence, who damaged an ankle tripping over his dog.

Defoe set up Crouch’s opener, chipping the ball across the penalty box for his giant partner to leap and score his fourth goal in three matches with an impressive volley.

Fuller fought his way through the Pompey defence to finish off a flicked-on Rory Delap cross to equalise but Defoe signalled his intention to score when he hit the post two minutes later.

It took the former Tottenham and West Ham hitman just a minute more to hit the winner with a near-identical right-foot shot which flummoxed Sorensen’s stand-in Steve Simonsen.

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