ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP Portsmouth 4 Stoke City 0: FOR A few giddy minutes last night, this stadium echoed to the chimes of a glorious recent past. An evening of respite from what has proved a farcical Premier League campaign coaxed the bite from Portsmouth's forwards and prompted familiar refrains of Que Sera Serafrom the locals.
There was even a goal for their veteran substitute Nwankwo Kanu before the end after Glenn Whelan’s horrible error, the Nigerian finishing with glorious ease as Stoke wilted.
The contest had barely crept beyond the quarter-hour mark when Aruna Dindane supplied Nadir Belhadj down the left with the full-back’s whipped cross converted by Frederic Piquionne – the lumbering forward rising above Danny Pugh at the far post.
Ten minutes into the second period Webber, cutting too easily across the penalty area, fizzed a low shot beyond the exposed Simonsen to register his second goal for his new club before, four minutes later, Stoke crumpled further into ignominy.
Michael Brown’s free-kick should have been dealt with but Simonsen merely collided with Danny Higginbotham.
The ball dribbled free of the clutter for Piquionne to batter gleefully into the empty net.
Guardian Service
PORTSMOUTH: Ashdown, Vanden Borre, Kaboul, Wilson, Belhadj, Dindane (Hughes 77), Brown, Mullins, Yebda (Mokoena 63),Piquionne, Webber (Kanu 68). Subs Not Used: Niemi, Ben-Haim, Basinas, Nlundulu. Booked: Wilson.
STOKE CITY: Simonsen, Griffin, Higginbotham, Cort, Pugh, Lawrence (Soares 75), Arismendi, Whelan, Tonge, Sanli (Moult 82), Kitson (Sidibe 55). Subs Not Used: Parton, Lund, Wedderburn, Connor. Booked: Tonge, Griffin.
Referee: Peter Walton
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