Sportsbook fans were surprised on Sunday after Portsmouth shocked Tottenham to make the FA Cup final. Portsmouth got the 2-0 win which was a big shock to those wagering at the online sportsbook.
Sportsbook odds this season in the Premier League have not favored Portsmouth very often. The team has been so bad they have been relegated from the Premier League for next season. Somehow the team got the win on Sunday though against Tottenham. Frederic Piquionne scored in the ninth minute of extra time and Kevin-Prince Boateng added another goal on a penalty kick. Portsmouth moves into the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 15th. Chelsea reached the final with a 3-0 sportsbook win over Aston Villa.
Portsmouth has had so many debt problems that they almost folded this year. That is what makes the win on Sunday so shocking to fans at the online sportsbook. Manager Avram Grant was able to get his team focused and ready to play. “This season encapsulates just about every emotion you can have as a footballer and today has been absolutely superb,” said goalkeeper David James. The semifinal win for Portsmouth gives them about $3 million in prize money. “This is a great achievement after what’s happened this season,” Grant said. “I remember arriving at the club one day (in February) and being told that next week there will be no club. We have been living on a day-(to)-day basis and despite this we have reached the final.”
Tottenham was heavily favored at the sportsbook against Portsmouth but they simply could not break through. “Pompey were dangerous on the counterattack. They had pace,” Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said. “They are a threat and full credit to them. We had plenty of chances, good chances, but missed them and that’s how it goes.” The field at Wembley was a mess and that also prevented many scoring chances. “How can you play on a pitch you can’t stand up on?” Redknapp said. “It’s farcical.” Sportsbook handicappers know that Portsmouth is only the seventh team ever to reach the FA Cup final in a relegation season. “You can see how much it means to everyone at Portsmouth,” Hayden Mullins said, “It was a blow being relegated on Saturday, but every single player in that changing-room deserves to have won today. We’ve been written off all season and to give the fans something like this is magic.”