Hughes: Roque is the best April 29 2008
Blackburn manager Mark Hughes saluted Roque Santa Cruz as the best pound for pound striker in the Premier League after his 21st goal of the season ended Portsmouth's hopes of a fifth-place finish.
The Paraguayan's unstoppable shot after a slick one-two with Jason Roberts clinched a 1-0 win and ended a bad week for Harry Redknapp, who had to send out his team without injured goalkeeper David James and saw star striker Jermain Defoe's first-half effort wiped out by the narrowest of offside decisions.
Redknapp, in mourning for his sister-in-law Pat, the mother of Chelsea ace Frank Lampard who died of pneumonia earlier this week, admitted: "It's very difficult. My wife is in bits but what can you do except try to get on with it.
"It would have been nice to get a win today but it wasn't to be but I'd never say the players had their eyes only on the cup final.
"Up to last week (a 3-1 defeat at Manchester City) we were in as good form as anybody in the Premier League and I was delighted with our first half performance today."
Santa Cruz had the decisive say in the 73rd minute as Rovers avenged a league defeat at Ewood Park in September.
Hughes denied suggestions he would not be able to resist offers from bigger clubs for Santa Cruz in the summer.
He said: "He's been great for us and we are not a selling club.
"You see clubs paying £25-£26million for strikers like Fernando Torres and obviously he's done the business but Santa Cruz came to us (from Bayern Munich) for just over £3million and I'd say that probably makes him, pound for pound, probably the better buy."
The Welshman added: "It was a great goal from Roque and a great pass from Roberts who has also had a great game for us."
Yet it was only when Hughes pushed Santa Cruz into a more attacking position in the second half that he grabbed the goal.
He had started on the right of midfield, with David Bentley on the left and Hughes explained: "We started like that on the basis it was the format we used against Manchester United last week.
"It worked to good effect. We still found space to enable Roque to get a goal then as well.
"But I decided we could push him forward in the second half today because we had dealt comfortably with what Portsmouth threw at us in the first half and then upped our performance.
"There's been a little bit of mischief in the papers, speculation of us selling top players but that's not going to happen.
"I'm very happy with the four strikers we have and that will save some money in the summer because that's where most of it has been going lately.
"Roque has come in and settled well. You never know what will happen with foreign players but the fact he's played week-in, week-out has helped him.
"His body has been able to cope with a few niggles and he's happy of course with his scoring record.
"What helps is that players coming into Blackburn now get what they get at all the top clubs. Roque has signed for three years and this is just the first."
Despite Pompey's third home league defeat of the season Redknapp insisted: "I thought we played well (in the) first half but we couldn't take our chances in the end.
"But Blackburn came here (with a) 4-5-1 (formation) and just asked us to break them down. It wasn't until the second half that they really pushed on.
"Before that it looked like they were just waiting to lose."
Redknapp revealed that James, who missed his first league game in two seasons, tore a calf muscle against Manchester City last Sunday but did not have it scanned until Thursday.
He said: "It is a good job he didn't train on Friday or a grade one tear might have become grade four.
"But hopefully he's not a doubt for the FA Cup Final, although you never know with calf injuries. If he takes his time and gets the right treatment he should be all right."
Redknapp added on James' replacement: "I can't blame Jamie Ashdown for the Blackburn goal. He decided to punch the ball out and it came straight back in to Santa Cruz but before that he had just made a great save.
"He's had a back injury for a while and we had to push him into training this week but he did well.
"Fifth place looks out of reach for us now but it was always going to be difficult.
"We could have done it if we'd won last week and then today but to be honest winning the FA Cup Final is the most important thing now."