ALL SPORTS

A 19th-minute header by French midfielder Hassan Yebda secured a win that was greeted ecstatically by Pompey’s players, manager Paul Hart and fans. However, they are still bottom of the table and in the depths of a financial crisis. Peter Storrie, Portsmouth’s chief executive, has said that the club — unable to pay some of its players last week — needs at least 30% of £50m in new funds promised by the club’s chairman-owner, Sulaiman al-Fahim, within a fortnight or it will risk financial meltdown.

Revenue and Customs, the bank and local suppliers are among creditors demanding repayment of debt. Agents Pini Zahavi and Jonathan Barnett are also owed £3m. Al-Fahim, in hospital in Dubai being treated for kidney stones, insists he is close to securing a £50m loan from America. However, a source in Dubai told this paper: “It’s evident he has no money of his own and he won’t find backing in the Gulf now. He no longer has the confidence of the sheikhs. He’s not a bad guy and he never intended to cause problems but he loves the attention. He likes being famous and wanted to own a football club. He’s a dreamer who didn’t really think what he was doing.”

To cover the current deficit, Storrie has negotiated a £5m loan from the two Faraj brothers, Saudi Arabian businessmen, to help keep the club afloat. The brothers were prominent in a consortium, also involving Storrie, that was beaten to control of Portsmouth by al-Fahim. Last night there were reports that the brothers had been sold a majority shareholding. “By Monday or Tuesday [one of them] will be on the board,” al-Fahim was quoted as saying. He would remain at Portsmouth with a minority stake.