F.A. Cup Final 2008: Portsmouth 1, Cardiff City 0

A 37th-minute Kanu goal was enough to earn Portsmouth their first FA Cup victory in 69 years at the expense of Championship side Cardiff City.

The veteran striker pounced after Cardiff goalkeeper Peter Enckelman could only flap at a John Utaka cross.

The two unlikely finalists contested a spirited if unspectacular game in front of a sell-out crowd for the second Final at the new Wembley. With Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool having all fallen by the wayside by the sixth-round stage, many have seen this season’s competition as the ‘everyfan’ Cup – a chance for some of the less powerful clubs to shine. So dominant have the Premier League’s ruling elite become that the FA Cup is seen as one of the few opportunities for other clubs to win some silverware; even so, this was to be only the third time in the last 20 years that a team other than one of the Big Four would be taking home the famous old trophy.

Cardiff, bidding to become the first winners from outside the top flight since West Ham in 1980, started looking the more purposeful and Pompey keeper David James was called into action early on to deny Paul Parry. But although they enjoyed plenty of possession, they rarely posed a serious threat and the Portsmouth back line, bossed by captain Sol Campbell and England international Glen Johnson, comfortably absorbed most of the pressure.

Harry Redknapp’s side soon began to stamp their authority on the game and spotted opportunities to test Enckelman, who looked uncomfortable in the slippery conditions and did not make a single held save in the entire game, preferring to punch or parry whatever came his way. Still they failed to create a serious chance until the 21st minute, when Kanu inexplicably pushed his shot against the post after comfortably rounding the keeper.

Sixteen minutes later he made up for his blunder when Utaka’s cross wrong-footed Enckelman, who could only palm the ball out to the waiting Nigerian, and Kanu made no mistake this time with a simple tap-in.

Cardiff almost came up with an immediate response when Parry’s cross picked out Kevin McNaughton at the right post but the Scot, at full stretch, sliced well wide. The Welsh side did get the ball in the net just before the interval, but Glen Loovens was correctly adjudged to have controlled it with his arm before sending his lobbed shot over James.

Pompey made their superior strength and fitness tell in the second half, a series of bruising physical challenges in midfield breaking up numerous Cardiff attacks and forcing referee Mike Dean to show several yellow cards. For all their possession, the Bluebirds seemed out of ideas and it was no surprise when Dave Jones withdrew the tiring Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – appearing in possibly his last game for the club – and Peter Whittingham, replacing them with Steve Thompson and 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey. The two substitutes succeeded in making the Portsmouth defence work harder but an equaliser looked as far off as ever.

And Cardiff might have fallen further behind when Sylvain Distin embarked on a mazy run which was only stopped by a well-timed tackle from Roger Johnson.

But in the end, a single goal was enough and Sol Campbell led his team’s victorious climb to the Royal Box to collect the Cup from Sir Bobby Robson. Portsmouth held the trophy for seven years the last time they won it, when the competition was suspended during the Second World War. They, and many others, will savour this triumph for at least as long, both as a glorious day for Portsmouth Football Club and a rare moment in the sun for one of English football’s second string.