Tottenham Hotspur 0 Portsmouth 2: Portsmouth defy odds to secure final with Chelsea

That is what the history books will record after Portsmouth, on the weekend they were relegated from the Barclays Premier League, beat Tottenham after extra time at Wembley to take their place in the final against Chelsea next month.

The paupers against the billionaire; the team with virtually nothing against the club with everything.

'You can break many things but you can't break our spirit,' proclaimed the banner amid the blue and white Pompey hordes up in the Wembley stands.

And so it was in a match in which Tottenham dominated possession but Portsmouth refused to surrender, refused to accept that a season of torment had to end in abject misery.

Frederic Piquionne and former Tottenham midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, from the penalty spot, scored the goals and deep into normal time goalkeeper David James produced the save of the match to deny Peter Crouch.

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant, wearing a black suit and undertaker's demeanour, actually broke into a smile and punched the Wembley skies with his fists. Truly, it was a surreal afternoon.

And, of course, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, the man who gave Portsmouth the greatest day in their history when they won the FA Cup in 2008, but who is blamed by many for destabilising the club financially, went home empty handed.

You simply cannot heap enough praise on what Portsmouth and their fans brought to this occasion.

You would never know they were supporters on the edge of an abyss, uncertain of how much longer they might have a team to support. They were magnificent.

A pity we could not say the same for the Wembley pitch which once again did not assist the spectacle. Can it really be so difficult to lay a piece of turf conducive to playing flowing football in the nation's premier stadium? A stadium which cost the thick end of 1bn?

Not that the pitch entirely explained the poor quality of the early football. The tenseness and usual reticence to make mistakes in a semi-final took care of that. In truth, the first half struggled to get out of first gear. Tottenham were poor, lacking fluency, struggling to match the bite of Portsmouth.

Grant's team were the better side with Hassan Yebda and Michael Brown setting the tempo and Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes making the most important saves from Aruna Dindane and Piquionne.

The second half was a distinct improvement. Redknapp decided change was required before the hour mark and Roman Pavlyuchenko came off the bench to replace Jermain Defoe. The Portsmouth fans loved that, having booed their former striker Defoe throughout.

For the first time an urgency arrived in Tottenham's game. A shot from Pavlyuchenko thundered wide, a header by Crouch narrowly missed its mark.

Chances came and went, one of them right at the end of normal time when James pulled off that instinctive save from Crouch which would have delighted England manager Fabio Capello.

Piquionne's goal came nine minutes into extra time when Marc Wilson's free-kick was met by Boateng. Michael Dawson slipped at the crucial moment and Piquionne tucked his finish away through Gomes's legs.

Crouch hit the post and had a 'goal' disallowed as Pompey held on, with Boateng adding to the scoreline when Wilson Palacios brought down Dindane although TV replays suggested he had got the ball first.

Tottenham Hotspur: Gomes, Corluka, Dawson, Bassong, Bale, Bentley (Kranjcar 79), Huddlestone (Gudjohnsen 102), Palacios, Modric, Crouch, Defoe (Pavlyuchenko 59). Unused substitutes: Alnwick, Rose, Livermore, Assou-Ekotto.

Portsmouth: James, Finnan, Rocha, Mokoena, Mullins (Hughes 119), Brown, Wilson, Yebda (Utaka 87), Dindane, Piquionne (Diop 112), Boateng. Unused substitutes: Ashdown, Smith, Kanu, Basinas.

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).