Portsmouth 7-4 Reading: Was This The Best Premier League Game Ever?
The Premier League is thought by many to be the most exciting league in the world; today’s incredible match between Portsmouth and Reading added to the claim. Normally four goals would be enough to win you a game even against the best of sides- this was not true for Reading as Portsmouth hit a massive seven at Fratton Park.
In total eleven goals were scored in the match; with eight of them coming in the second half. Portsmouth striker Benjani Mwaruwari was easily the player of the game after netting a hat-trick and the defenders in both teams will want to forget this as quickly as possible. The game started off well, with Benjani scoring two goals to put Portsmouth in a comfortable lead. Reading did not really look like threatening in the first half, however Stephen Hunt gave them a goal just before half time to give them a hopeful glimpse of taking something from the game.
Reading even pulled level just after half time when David James’ horrible mistake meant Kitson eventually put the ball in the back of the net, and although Hreidarsson put Portsmouth back in front at 3-2 Reading could have drawn level again had English left back Nicky Shorey not had his penalty saved. Benjani then completed his hat-trick before Niko Krancjar, Sean Davis and a Sulley Muntari penalty made up a humiliating score-line for Reading; Shorey was able to save a little bit of face for both himself and the club as he netted a last-gap consolation.
A great win for Portsmouth as this takes them to fifth place; Reading slump to 17th, just two points above the relegation zone. Reading may fall into the bottom three if Tottenham Hotspur win on Monday- fans will hope that this is not the case.
All in all a cracking match to watch; perhaps even the best Premiership game of all time. It would have been the 5-4 victory for Arsenal against Tottenham in the north London derby for me before this game; is this the best Premiership game of all time or are there others that are better?
- Pick 3 winners out of 5: Tottenham, Bolton, Everton, Portsmouth & Reading
- Reading brace themselves for a month-long scrap
- Are Portsmouth really ready to sell David Nugent?
- West Ham’s fighting talk: We hope they’re too tired to beat us
- Can Bolton get their sh*t together against Portsmouth?
Discussion - 14 Responses
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sadly, this was not the greates game of all time. As a spectacle, it was 2 pub teams playing agaisnt each other, where both teams forgot to take defenders. None of the goals were special, and really, it was only the absurd scoreline that gave it any credibility. That said, another way of looking at it is a collection of highlights, as the game nver slowed down. I will be intrested to see how they compress it on MoTD, as there really were just so many chances!!! So, if you like just watching highlights, sure it was a great game. If you like watching patient football, you would have to look elsewhere.
oh, and i forgot to mention: a good game requires an evenly balanced match. that game was anything but, with pompey dominating every aspect of play.
It was an awesome match to watch, Simply wonderful and all the people who say football is ‘dull, boring and has a lack of goals’ should feel like shit because, this shows how great the game can be, Although it was an 11 goal thiriller, defintly 20 coulda been scored, It was such a great match and I dont rekcon this will happen for the next 3 or so seasons..
Also, Does any one know if this is the highest goal-scoring match in the Premier League or English Top League Footall??
i think arsenal vs spurs 5-4 was beter any day.
pompey controlled this match but defended badly to let reading score 4 goals
FreeKicks makes a match more interesting..
I don’t understand peoples obsession with a high scoring game being better than a low scoring game. All it says is that neither team can defend and one team defended worse than the other. A phenomenal match involves maybe 3-4 goals between the two teams, evenly spread out, with fluid attacks and competent defenders and no David James rushing out to midfield to miss a ball *Shudder*
Juv3ntus466, this is exactly the kind of attitude the Italian teams adopt which makes me find that league extremly boring. Football is about goals and if two teams were to play one defender and 9 forwards than I will be pleased because we would see a lot of goals. This is why the Brazil, Real Madird, Arsenal and Machester United are so popular: because they manage to entertain to a maximum (exception this season for three of the four).
As for the best game ever, no way! I found that West Ham-Tottenham (3-4) last season was far better with much more quality and a more balanced game.
Juv3ntus466, this is exactly the kind of attitude the Italian teams adopt which makes me find that league extremly boring. Football is about goals and if two teams were to play one defender and 9 forwards than I will be pleased because we would see a lot of goals. This is why the Brazil, Real Madird, Arsenal and Machester United are so popular: because they manage to entertain to a maximum (exception this season for three of the four).
As for the best game ever, no way! I found that West Ham-Tottenham (3-4) last season was far better with much more quality and a more balanced game. But i would have to dig deeper to find the best premier League game until I reach the Arsenal - Man Utd game from 1999 (?) where both Schmeichel and Seaman were absolutely phenomenal/exhillirating/outstanding (ure pick)
though a united fan, i must say that the best premier league game i ever saw was liverpool v newcastle back in 1996, when collymore scored in the last minute (4-3) and keegan slumped in his seat over the advertisement hoardings! however, this pompey-reading game was definitely a great game to watch for the neutrals!
High scoring games are all well and good but what does this say about the quality of the EPL? 4-4 at Spurs! What a mess!
Agree with Nino about the newcastle liverpool game. It had everything, tension, drama and end to end action from two teams playing high quality football. Despite the goals and obvious entertainment factor the match was very one sided and most the goals came from poor defending rather than good attacking. I also think arsenals 3-2 victorys over chelsea at stamford bridge in the 1998 and 2000 seasons deserve a mention aswell
The score line clearly indicates that this was a crap match filled with many mistakes. Surely there are more classic matches than these in the history of the League.
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