Wolfsburg-Portsmouth: Calamity From James Ends Pompey Dream

In a game that saw four goals inside the first 22 minutes of the game, Portsmouth crashed out of their inaugural UEFA Cup campaign at the Volkswagon Arena this evening. In a match that ended 3-2 to the home side, Portsmouth goalkeeper David James made a terrible error which decided the match.

I wrote in another article just two days ago that this game was going to be the decider. Had we drawn or lost we might have—mathematically—still had a shot at advancing had Heerenveen beaten Braga.

But I knew we couldn't rely on that result. It was leaving far too much up to luck. And luck, as of late, is something Portsmouth haven't had much of.

In only the second minute of the match, Bosnian striker Edin Džeko had put the hosts ahead after some poor Pompey defending, and it looked as if it would be very much an uphill battle from then on.

Lone Portsmouth front-man Jermain Defoe, however, brought hope to the hearts of the traveling faithful just eight minutes later.

The traveling fans—surprisingly—had more to celebrate after just three more minutes, as a thunderbolt into the top right corner of the net from shock-starter Arnold Mvuemba gave Portsmouth the comeback they had hoped for.

Christian Gentner would pull another back to send the teams in level at half-time, with Portsmouth's hopes on the line; Heerenveen, who had previously been winning, were still managing a draw against Braga.

Left-back Nadir Belhadj came off at half time after what was his worst performance in a Pompey shirt, and the game was tense for the first twenty minutes following the restart.

But it was goalkeeper James, typically the rock at the back of the Portsmouth defense, who would gift Wolfsburg the winner in the 74th minute. Coming off his line in an attempt to beat another Bosnian striker, Zvjezdan Misimovic, James lost the ball and allowed Misimovic to practically walk the ball into the net, ending Pompey's European ambitions.

Things looked to have gone from bad to worse, as Herenveen fell behind to Braga 2-1, and Portsmouth captain Sol Campbell gave up a penalty.

James, however, was able to shake off his own personal disappointment and save the penalty, but Portsmouth never quite looked like snatching the draw from that point.

And with that, any hope of progression for the English side in the competition was over. Even had Portsmouth drawn, it wouldn't have been enough, as Braga held out for the 2-1 win.

While many will be quick to jump on the back of David James, I've been pleased to see a great number of Portsmouth supporters have lept to our 'keeper's defense.

James has done a great deal for our club over the past three seasons, and it is largely thanks to his sensational form that we even made it to Europe. While no one likes these things to happen, mistakes do occur; you just hope they don't happen in the biggest of games.

Still, in the end, Portsmouth had that brilliant tie against AC Milan to remember fondly, and will helpful back on our first group game against Braga for the blame. In my mind, it was that terrible performance in Portugal that led to the situation Portsmouth found themselves in.

Still, the Premier League needs to be our primary focus now, and the hope of possibly earning another place in Europe this season. In truth, however, I grow more and more fearful of what the rest of the season will hold for Portsmouth...