Portsmouth shock Tottenham to reach FA Cup final

London: Debt-crippled Portsmouth emerged from the maelstrom of a stormy season to reach the FA Cup final with a shock 2-0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur.

The south coast club, who were relegated from the Premier League on Saturday and were rated 9-1 by bookmakers to beat Spurs, produced a display full of fight to reach the finale for the second time in three seasons having beaten Cardiff in 2008. Tottenham Hotspur were overwhelming favourites to set up a May 15 showdown with Chelsea but after 90 minutes of stalemate, goals from Frederic Piquionne and former Tottenham player Kevin-Prince Boateng sent Portsmouth`s army of fans into raptures. Wembley`s pitch, which came under fire on Saturday after Chelsea`s 3-0 semi-final victory over Aston Villa, again proved a huge talking point as Portsmouth`s opener came as a direct result of Spurs skipper Michael Dawson losing his footing.Tottenham also had reason to feel hard done by when Peter Crouch had a goal disallowed shortly after Piquionne`s opener but the north London club could have few complaints about the result as Portsmouth showed more desire. Manager Harry Redknapp, who steered Portsmouth to victory at Wembley two years ago against Cardiff before leaving to join Tottenham, embraced his opposite number Avram Grant warmly at the final whistle before trudging off for the post-mortem.His side have just three days now to pick themselves up for a crucial Premier League match against Arsenal when defeat could wreck their hopes of finishing fourth. Bureau Report