Aston Villa	1 - 3	Portsmouth
Scorers Barry (pen) 72  Booked Carew 4 Berger 67	Half Time ( 0 - 2 )	Scorers Gardner o.g. 10 Muntari 40 Muntari 61  Booked Pedro Mendes 43 James 74 Pamarot 75 Kranjcar 80

Portsmouth eased to victory at Villa Park to maintain their unbeaten run against a good Villa side to keep up the pressure on the four teams above them.

Aston Villa went into the game with four wins from their last five games and Martin O’Neil named an unchanged back four as he welcomed Nigel Reo0Coker back from suspension.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth travelled to the Midlands unbeaten in their previous 10 games. And Sulley Muntari scored a brace as Martin O’Neil’s side was outplayed on their home ground to undo their good work following the draw against Arsenal last weekend.

It was Pompey’s sixth straight victory away from Fratton Park as they defeated an in-form Villa side to leave them shell-shocked.

The hosts dominated the first 45 minutes but went behind when some poor defensive play ended when Craig Gardner put the ball into his own net after 10 minutes. A corner from the right, Pamarot drilled the ball in and Bouma sliced the ball back towards his own goal and into the path of Benjani but Gardner’s outstretched boot put the ball into his own net.

Villa pushed forward and Laursen found space behind the Pompey defence but somehow managed to miss the target with a really poor header.

And David James made an excellent near-post save with his legs after a deflected Agbonlahor shot went goal-bound.

It was an exciting game as Villa couldn’t capitalise on their possession. Carew’s shot hit Pamarot’s arm but the referee didn’t give a penalty, as some might’ve done, deciding instead the ball hit him rather than the other way round.

Portsmouth then went further ahead to virtually seal the points by the interval as Muntari scored the first of two cracking goals with a stunning 25-yard strike after 40 minutes. As Laursen backed off, Muntari made the extra yard he needed to himself and hit an unstoppable left-footed effort.

James made another excellent save from Agbonlahor’s powerful strike to maintain Pompey’s lead and Kranjcar had an effort wide at the other end as the game lived up to its high expectations.

And with an hour gone, Muntari again picked up some loose defending when he won the ball from Reo-Coker in the Villa half and beat two defenders before hitting a low shot past Scott Carson. Some weak challenges by the Villa defence gave Muntari the extra yard and his swerving left-footed shot gave Carson no chance.

Gareth Barry scored a penalty with 20 minutes to go after Ashley Young was fouled but it was little consolation for the home side.

Some brilliant build-up play should’ve brought a fourth goal for Pompey but Marlon Harewood put the ball wide when he was free at the far post.

Agbonlahor hit the post late on as the visitors gave their hosts a lesson in finishing, which was one of the differences between the two sides.

It was a disappointing result for Aston Villa who should’ve done a lot better on their home soil. Their scoring record this season hasn’t been too bad but their defence looks too distracted to push them into Europe at the moment.

Harry Redknapp’s side keeps the pressure on the top four teams and despite his problems off the pitch, it seems he can’t do anything wrong on it.

Aston Villa: Carson, Mellberg, Knight, Laursen, Bouma (Berger 54), Gardner (Harewood 70), Reo-Coker, Barry, Young, Carew, Agbonlahor.

Subs Not Used: Taylor, Davies, Maloney.

Portsmouth: James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Pamarot, Utaka (Kanu 64), Diop, Pedro Mendes, Muntari, Kranjcar (Taylor 88), Mwaruwari.

Subs Not Used: Begovic, Hreidarsson, Nugent

Att: 35,790

Ref: Mike Riley (Yorkshire).

By Ben Hughes