English Premiership
Crouch wins it for Pompey
2009-03-21 17:08
London - Peter Crouch scored twice on Saturday to lead Portsmouth to a 2-1 victory over Everton and boost its prospects of avoiding relegation from the Premier League.
The lanky striker's headed goals either side of halftime clinched Pompey's first win in more than a month.
"It was massive we got a win today," Crouch said. "The flight of the ball was just perfect for me."
The three points had looked in doubt when Leighton Baines put Everton ahead in the fourth minute with a free kick that curled in off the far post.
Pompey, who had won just one of their last 13 league matches, leveled in the 22nd when a corner was only half cleared before reaching Glen Johnson, who headed across goal for Crouch to find the net.
The England forward pounced again with 15 minutes remaining at Fratton Park, heading past United States goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Later Saturday, Manchester United was at Fulham, looking to recover from last weekend's crushing defeat against Liverpool. Chelsea was hoping the leaders slipped up again to allowed the Blues to close the gap to a point by beating Tottenham.