David Nugent scored the only goal of a tight Carling Cup third round clash between Burnley and Portsmouth.
Nugent nets as Portsmouth progress
David Nugent scored the only goal of a tight Carling Cup third round clash between Burnley and Portsmouth.
The England striker netted in the 69th minute to see off a spirited Burnley side that enjoyed plenty of the play against their Premier League opponents at Turf Moor.
Positive start
Burnley began brightly and their best chance in the opening 10 minutes fell to defender Clarke Carlisle who fired off-target from a corner.
But Nugent should have opened the scoring when put through one-on-one with Gabor Kiraly by Pedro Mendes, however the Burnley goalkeeper came out and took the ball from the striker's feet.
Stephen Caldwell was denied from close range by Jamie Ashdown on the half hour mark when his goal-bound header from Alan Mahon's cross was parried away.
Kiraly then kept out Matthew Taylor at the other end with a sprawling save low down to his left after Arnold Mvuemba's ball came through to the midfielder.
Burnley strikers Kyle Lafferty and Ade Akinbiyi both forced saves from Ashdown as the home side finished the half how they started it, on top.
Portsmouth fashioned the first chance of the second-half and were not far away from finding the back of the net as Nugent's header across the face of goal was just out of the reach of a stretching Noe Pamarot.
Burnley continued to look dangerous going forward after the break and Lafferty saw a shot from the edge of the area comfortably saved by Ashdown.
Controversial strike
Nugent broke the deadlock with 21 minutes remaining when he slotted home into the corner following Mendes' pass, although the home side claimed there was a hint of a handball.
The Portsmouth striker could have sealed victory soon after but his shot from the left-hand side of the box flashed across Kiraly's goal.
Burnley pushed for an equaliser late on and substitute Graham Alexander's ambitious attempt from 40 yards caused Ashdown problems, but Portsmouth hung on to progress to the fourth round.
| Burnley |
Team Statistics |
Portsmouth |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 10 |
Corners |
5 |
| 11 |
Fouls |
6 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 51.6 |
Possession |
48.4 |
|
