Hreidarsson admits use of arm in Pompey's last-gasp winner
Portsmouth's players have admitted they were lucky to avoid a replay
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Monday, 18, Feb 2008 02:19
Portsmouth defender Hermann Hreidarsson has admitted he used his arm in the lead-up to his side's last-minute winner against Preston in the FA Cup.
Pompey grabbed a largely undeserved 1-0 win at Deepdale yesterday following Darren Carter's injury-time own goal, which sent the Championship side out of the competition.
The home team seemed to be on top for most of the second half in a hotly-contested affair, which Pompey boss Harry Redknapp admitted he would have been happy to secure a replay out of.
And to seemingly rub salt in the wounds, Hreidarsson admitted the corner that led to the winning goal struck his arm on the way through a crowd of bodies in the six-yard box.
"The ball came into the area and hit my thigh and arm," the Icelander told Portsmouth's official website.
"But it was ball to arm, not arm to ball. There was no intent."
Hreidarsson also said he thought the strike, though clearly an own goal, should be credited to him.
"I'm claiming that goal," he added.
"Their player tried to clear it and kicked the ball into the roof of the net, but it was already going in. It's definitely mine."
Portsmouth join fellow Premier League sides Chelsea and Manchester United in the draw for the quarter-finals later today, while Middlesbrough face a replay against Championship side Sheffield United.
Fellow second-tier sides West Bromwich Albion, Barnsley and Cardiff City are also through to the last-eight - along with the competition's lowest-ranked survivors Bristol Rovers, who knocked out Championship side Southampton on Saturday.