Portsmouth 2 AC Milan 2:PORTSMOUTH WERE on the verge of a historic night, and will rue the stoppage-time equaliser they conceeded here to Milan.
Before Filippo Inzaghi skillfully controlled Gianluca Zambrotta's cross with one foot, Portsmouth had controlled much of the game, showing more adventure and even accuracy than the opposition, and fully deserved a victory.
The warning signs had been there for Portsmouth, once Carlo Ancelloti showed off the assets at his disposal in bringing on Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato for Kaka and Andriy Shevchenko with 15 minutes remaning.
That led to Milan's sublime reply with an 84th minute free-kick from Ronaldinho.
The second of Portsmouth's goals, following a Younes Kaboul opener, saw Glen Johnson, an outstanding performer, picking out Kanu to leave him with what was almost an open goal after 73 minutes.
It has been said that Portsmouth followers could never have dreamed of a match against Milan, but it is exactly images of this sort that run through the minds of sleeping supporters everywhere.
The aspect that will have been beyond the imagining of Fratton Park fans was the concept of taking on such august opponents with a weakened team.
Portsmouth couldn't even come up with a full complement of substitutes. They were a man short and the sextet on the bench included Sean Davis, who has been affected by flu. Furthermore, Tony Adams had to accept that the roll call of absentees, such as Sol Campbell, Lassana Diarra and Jermain Deoe, might have been taken as a short list of candidates in his ranks for the home side's the most influential player award.
Portsmouth would not, of course, have been disconsolate. It has been the essence of the club to compete strongly with better-equipped rivals. The side indeed is adept enough at that task to be holders of the FA Cup.
Having come up with a victory away to Manchester United in the quarter-finals in that competition, there cannot have been any dread of meeting Milan at Fratton Park.
No signs of an inferiority complex are permitted at this ground, where the sound is deafening and uninterrupted. The side, too, was free of timidity, with Richard Hughes booked for a foul on Mathieu Flamini in the ninth minute. In picking the former Arsenal midfielder and Philippe Senderos, who is on loan from the Emirates, the Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, however, may have been ensuring that he had men versed in the ways of the Premier League.
When Peter Crouch looked as if he might head a delivery from the impressive Glen Johnson down to Kanu in the goalmouth, the trajectory of the ball, skidding off a wet surface, meant that he could not connect properly.
While Milan did come closer it was not because of the wiles of virtuosos like Kaka. Filippo Inzaghi's first opportunity, in the ninth minute, came to him because Andriy Shevchenko's free-kick had broken off the defensive wall. The prolific forward then dragged his finish and struck the far post.
It was not a cunning cameo that lay at the heart of a Milan opening after 26 minutes. Rino Gattuso's through pass reached Inzaghi with the aid of a deflection from the centre-half Younes Kaboul. The Milan striker, who do does not always look like a lethal predator despite a remarkable record, grazed the bar with his shot.
Crouch, too, could have been reproaching himself on the verge of the interval when he missed with a diving header after being picked out by Johnson. Even so, Portsmouth were adept at manufacturing mayhem. With 52 minutes gone, Kanu fired the ball in from the left and Glen Little's volley made the net ripple, but only the side-netting.
Milan would have felt alarm then but there was also intermittent anxiety in the Portsmouth area, where David James crashed into his own midfielder Pape Bouba Diop while coping with one cross.
Portsmouth sensed Milan's vulnerability and it was not such a shock that Adams' line-up should take the lead after 62 minutes. A free-kick from the right was not cleared properly and Kanu recovered possession before finding Johnson. The full-back's delivery was as telling as expected and Kaboul leapt to head past Dida.
Milan were in difficulties but turned first to Clarence Seedorf, as a substitute for Gattuso, perhaps feeling initially that this was no place or a virtuoso entertainer such as Ronaldinho.
In truth Ancelotti, six points already accumulated in the group, did not fear for his club's survival in the Uefa Cup, but this must have been a discomfiting night as Milan lagged and floundered. The second goal, from Kanu, was entirely what Portsmouth deserved.
PORTSMOUTH: James, Johnson, Kaboul, Distin, Belhadj, Little (Mvuemba 66 mins), Diop, Hughes, Traoré, Crouch, Kanu (Davis 81 mins). Subs not used: Ashdown, Hreidarsson, Pamarot, Wilson, Booked: Hughes.
AC MILAN: Dida, Zambrotta, Favalli, Senderos, Antonini, Gattuso (Seedorf 65 mins), Emerson, Flamini, Kaká (Pato 74 mins), Inzaghi, Shevchenko (Ronaldinho 74 mins). Subs not used: Kalac, Kaladze, Pirlo, Bonera. Booked: Antonini.
Referee: Serge Gumienny (Bel)
