Sport Camden: FA Cup Final Wembley Stadium | Cardiff City 0 Portsmouth 1 | Kanu | It will be remembered as Harry Redknapp's finest hour and a historic victory for a club which last won the FA Cup in 1939.

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Camden New Journal - By JOHN EVANS
Published: 15 May 2008

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp savours the Premier League club's FA Cup final triumph at Wembley

As happy as Harry

Redknapp captures first trophy in career, as Portsmouth overcome plucky Cardiff

FA CUP FINAL -
WEMBLEY STADIUM
CARDIFF CITY 0 PORTSMOUTH 1

It will be remembered as Harry Redknapp's finest hour and a historic victory for a club which last won the FA Cup in 1939.
More importantly, perhaps, Portsmouth's victory over Cardiff City by a single Kanu goal will be seen as the day this greatest domestic competition came home to Wembley.
Greatest because its ability to shock and pit teams from the lower leagues against their bigger spending rivals is unmatched in its excitement for those fans lucky enough to be involved. And properly back home for the 2008 final because the opener last year between Manchester United and Chelsea was a strangely antiseptic affair, lacking in the intensity of passion this cup can generate.
Saturday's battle, in front of 89,874 spectators was different. A couple of early physical tussles heralded an end-to-end struggle which was also affected by a pitch on which a number of players found it difficult to keep their feet and the use of a newly designed ball by Umbro – the Dynamis – which has been two years in development and is claimed to be faster and with a super-soft touch.
The managers might have wished these qualities upon some of their players but the Premiership club began cautiously with Redknapp using just one up front and five across the park to thwart Cardiff's energy.
Cardiff boss Dave Jones singled out the "magnificent" Joe Ledley as his best player after the match and it was Ledley who was instrumental in forcing the early pace which saw Cardiff win a series of corners. None of these caused much problem at the back for Portsmouth, who always looked more dangerous on the break After 22 minutes Kanu neatly made space for himself in the box and rounded Cardiff keeper Peter Enckelman, only to see the ball shave the post.
Redknapp's reaction later was: "When he missed the one earlier I thought maybe it's going to be one of those days."
He need not have worried. A quarter of an hour later Kanu made amends having been gifted the chance by Enckelman who inexplicably failed to gather a fierce John Utaka cross.
Game over, at least in terms of Portsmouth's plan. Cardiff tried, worked their socks off, flagged, rallied and tried again. Nevertheless the best chances towards the end were still carved out by Portsmouth, notably by David Nugent who substituted Utaka after 69 minutes and Sylvain Distin whose nicely balanced run on goal after 84 minutes was disappointing only in his failure to finish it off.
Dave Jones summed up his frustration: "Unfortunately the one mistake has cost us the game," but he praised his players for the numerous "half chances" they created and also their work rate.
A philosophical and downbeat Harry Redknapp summed up the real importance of his win: "The last 12 years one of the big four have won it. This year for us and Cardiff it was a big day out and a day they will never forget."

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