Benjani hat-trick sinks Rams

Benjani scored all three goals as Portsmouth beat lowly Derby County 3-1 at Fratton Park.

Striker steals show

Portsmouth got back to winning ways at Fratton Park thanks to a Benjani hat-trick against Derby. The rock-bottom Rams took an unexpected lead thanks to a tap-in by Lewin Nyatanga on four minutes, who scored on his first Premier League start of the season. But Pompey came back into the game and Benjani turned well to level on 38 minutes before scoring his second four minutes later with a firm header. He then sealed the points with a clinical 55th minute strike following a fine one-two with Pedro Mendes. The result helps Portsmouth up a place to eighth in the league, while Derby remain rooted at the bottom. Pompey were in a state of shock when Derby went in front after less than five minutes - following a free-kick by former Fratton Park winger Laurent Robert.

Stunned

The Frenchman bent the ball in from the right and when Moore won it at the far post, Craig Fagan's header was turned against the bar by David James and Nyatanga tapped home the rebound. Pompey were stunned and almost fell further behind within a minute when Kenny Miller was allowed free passage into the penalty area before James came out to block the Scottish striker's advance. In a blink of an eye, though, the ball was up at the other end where Benjani appeared to hustle it through for David Nugent who blazed a golden opportunity over the crossbar from 12 yards. Pompey were almost the victims of frenetic endeavour but they looked finally to the skill of Niko Kranjcar for inspiration and he almost came up trumps on 18 minutes when a vicious long-range drive from out on the left whistled fractionally over the bar.

Ovation

There were no more real clear-cut chances though until Benjani took the first on 38 minutes. Sylvain Distin's long ball was back-headed by Nugent to find Pedro Mendes who laid it square for Benjani to hold off Moore as he turned to drill into the roof of the net. Four minutes later, it was that man again from as he headed home unmarked from Hermann Hreidarsson's cross from the left. Derby were split wide open for Benjani's hat-trick goal on 53 minutes. He swept through the middle after a wonderful exchange of passes with Mendes and clipped a craftsman's shot past Lewis Price and just inside the far post. What an ovation they gave him when he came off a few minutes from the end, but there were other Pompey heroes - notably Kranjcar who panicked Derby every time he took possession and nearly had a hat-trick himself, with two fierce blasts and a free-kick just wide.

Portsmouth	Team Statistics	Derby County
3	Goals	1
2	1st Half Goals	1
5	Shots on Target	6
10	Shots off Target	2
6	Blocked Shots	1
6	Corners	2
14	Fouls	12
2	Offsides	5
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
75.7	Passing Success	63
24	Tackles	28
100	Tackles Success	71.4
57.4	Possession	42.6
54.7	Territorial Advantage	45.3