Hammers win at Pompey 4-1

Jermain Defoe's missed penalty against his old club proved costly as West Ham romped to a vital win at Portsmouth to ease the pressure on manager Gianfranco Zola.
Defoe had the chance to put Pompey ahead on the stroke of half-time but fired wide, allowing West Ham to capitalise with second-half goals from Craig Bellamy, who netted twice, and Carlton Cole.
Nadir Belhadj had earlier given Portsmouth an early lead, but Jack Collison equalised to send the Hammers on their way to only their second win in 13 league games.
It was a third straight defeat for Portsmouth boss Tony Adams, and only victory at his former club Arsenal on Sunday will prevent the wolves creeping to his door.
West Ham had never won a Premier League game against Portsmouth but they dominated the early exchanges at Fratton Park.
In the first minute Collison won a free-kick in a promising position after being scythed down by Sol Campbell but Bellamy, linked with a possible move away from West Ham in January, curled his effort high and wide.
The early pressure did not produce a goal however, and Portsmouth settled their nerves with the opener after eight minutes.
Left-back Belhadj started and finished a fine sweeping move, his cross-field pass finding Little, who launched a high cross to Peter Crouch at the far post.
The striker deftly plucked the ball from the air and pulled back to Belhadj, who slammed home his second goal of the season.
Collison's shot minutes later was deflected wide, but the midfielder made no mistake with West Ham's equaliser midway through the half.
Cole latched on to Mark Noble's free-kick on the left and crossed low to Collison, whose first-time shot went through first the legs of Sylvain Distin and then an unsighted David James.
The visitors have not scored more than one goal in a game for 12 league fixtures and their goalscoring problems were evident towards the end of the first half.
Portsmouth enjoyed the better chances, with Defoe turning sharply before shooting wide and Crouch forcing a good reaction save from Robert Green with a far-post volley.
Sean Davis' volley on the half-hour mark was even more impressive. The midfielder struck Belhadj's cross first time on the edge of the box, but Green was equal to it, blocking well with his legs.
At the other end Mark Noble missed a sitter when, with James helpless out of his goal, he tried to chip a backpedalling Campbell who comfortably headed clear.
Portsmouth were awarded a penalty just before the break when Neill fouled Crouch, but the spot-kick from Defoe, who has not scored in six games, smacked of a player lacking confidence and went wide of Green's right post.
The hosts wasted no time in registering their first effort on goal after the interval.
The Hammers made a hash of clearing out of their box and the ball fell to Crouch, who shot straight a Green from close range.
The England man was at it again minutes later but was off target this time, sidefooting over from Belhadj's cross, and Niko Kranjcar was equally wasteful when he blasted over from the right.
West Ham responded with a close-range effort from Collison which James repelled, and from the resulting corner Matthew Upson's looping header clipped the crossbar.
Defoe proved he was not dwelling on his penalty miss when he beat two players and raced into the box, but his fierce shot was caught by Green.
The missed opportunities proved costly when Cole edged West Ham in front in the 69th minute.
Bellamy crossed to Collison from the left and after the midfielder's shotcame back off the left post, Cole was well placed to stab home.
Having taken so many games to score that elusive second goal in a match, it was ironic a third would follow minutes later for West Ham.
Bellamy was put through one on one with James, and although the goalkeeper got a hand on the ball, the striker rounded him, composed himself and rifled home a high shot which beat Campbell on the line.
Bellamy added gloss to the scoreline with his second goal late on, providing a neat finish to Luis Boa Morte's low cross in the 83rd minute.
Teams:
Portsmouth James, Wilson, Campbell, Distin, Belhadj, Little (Armand Traore 71), Davis, Hughes, Kranjcar, Crouch,Defoe (Kanu 73).

Courtesy of Sportinglife