Late goals from Benjani and Glen Johnson gave Portsmouth a deserved 2-0 win at Wigan.
Pompey pinch the points in scrappy affair
Late goals from Benjani and Glen Johnson gave Portsmouth a deserved 2-0 win at Wigan.
Despite a lively start at The JJB that saw Paul Scharner's header hit the post, it proved a dour first half.
Sulley Muntari's free-kick came close to breaking the deadlock, however, his shot struck the outside of the upright.
Just when it looked like the points would be shared Muntari delivered a quality cross into the box that Benjani side-footed home from close range.
Wigan's fate was confirmed shortly after when Johnson was allowed to run from the halfway line before despatching a left-footed effort past Chris Kirkland.
Pompey boss Harry Redknapp will not mind for a moment that his side's 7-4 epic against Reading last month was consigned to distant memory by a match in which his side simply had to show dogged determination to claim the points.
But for his Wigan counterpart Chris Hutchings it could soon be time to press the panic button after a dismal display which showed just how far the Latics have fallen since the dizzy early season days when they found themselves top of the league.
Promising
Things had looked promising for two minutes. Michael Brown flung a long free-kick into the box which was knocked across goal by Andreas Granqvist and Scharner shaved the woodwork with a diving header.
Pompey's record in the goalscoring department might have been distinctly better than the Latics' but it became increasingly hard to see quite how they had scored seven against Reading as the minutes trudged by.
Niko Kranjcar's long-range effort flashed well wide for Pompey and a flick header in the box from Wigan's Antoine Sibierski also sailed the wrong side of the post as both sets of strikers struggled to assert themselves.
In an all too brief interlude of Wigan pressure, Marcus Bent - their most recent scorer against Reading last month - burst down the right flank in the 39th minute but his shot from a tight angle found the side netting.
Nigerian Julius Aghahowa provided some brief entertainment after replacing Sibierski in the 51st minute. Before even touching the ball he had clattered Sol Campbell and earned a yellow card from referee Peter Walton.
Then two minutes later when he did get his first touch he was flattened by it - Kranjcar's free-kick clattering into the Wigan striker who needed a number of minutes to rediscover his poise.
Pressed
Pompey pressed through Kranjcar, who played in Benjani for a shot which deflected high over the bar, before Campbell came close to connecting with the Croatian's resulting corner in front of goal.
Then Muntari blazed a long-range free-kick inches wide as Pompey continued to speckle a dismal encounter with the best chances and look most likely to break the stalemate.
That moment duly arrived nine minutes from time when Benjani converted the simplest of chances to grab his seventh goal of the season as he poked home a perfect Muntari cross.
Aghahowa tried his best to make a belated good impression when he cut into the right side of the visitors' box only to be hustled off his shot by Sylvain Distin in the Pompey defence.
But Johnson wrapped up victory when he was allowed to roam unchallenged across the Latics penalty box before drilling a low shot past Kirkland into the corner of the net.
| Wigan Athletic |
Team Statistics |
Portsmouth |
| 0 |
Goals |
2 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
| 0 |
Blocked Shots |
6 |
| 3 |
Corners |
2 |
| 11 |
Fouls |
11 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 67.6 |
Passing Success |
74.8 |
| 26 |
Tackles |
22 |
| 76.9 |
Tackles Success |
77.3 |
| 51 |
Possession |
49 |
| 40.5 |
Territorial Advantage |
59.5 |
|
