Portsmouth 1-0 Reading
Last updated on .From the section Football
Portsmouth earned their first win of the season with a narrow victory against play-off finalists Reading.
Former Reading striker Dave Kitson fired in a low shot from inside the box to give the home side the lead six minutes into the second half.
Both sides hit the woodwork during an often frenetic match, though the home team looked the more dangerous.
The Royals were unable to break down a dogged Portsmouth defence as the game played out.
Reading fans will be disappointed with the result, having defeated promotion favourites Leicester at the weekend. In truth the visitors, many people's outside bet for a play-off place this season, looked a little toothless in attack without departed frontman Shane Long.
Portsmouth carved out a number of decent chances in the first half. Eventual scorer Kitson was put through with just the Reading keeper to beat, but shot tamely at Adam Federici.
Reading did fight back before the break, with a powerful Jimmy Kebe header rebounding off the crossbar on the half hour.
It was Pompey pressure for the most part, however, and a long-range Kanu effort in the second half forced an athletic save from Federici.
The evening got even better for the Fratton Park faithful when striker Benjani came on as a substitute with 15 minutes to go. The last time the Zimbabwean pulled on a Pompey shirt was in January 2008, prior to move to Manchester City in the transfer window.
The 33-year-old nearly had an instant impact on proceedings, with a perfectly-weighted pass producing a Luke Varney shot which flashed just wide.
In the end, Portsmouth boss Steve Cotterill had to settle for the 1-0 win, while Reading travel back to Berkshire with plenty to ponder.
