Portsmouth moved to 6th position in the league table with a clinical display in their 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.

Jermain Defoe continued his brilliant form in front of the goal for Portsmouth to put his side in the lead with a delightful lobbed effort over Scott Carson in the 11th minute and a bizarre own goal by Nigel Reo-Coker in the 38th minute doubled the lead.

After a quiet opening few minutes, Portsmouth took the lead when Defoe latched on to Glen Johnson's long ball before raced past the Villa defense. Scott Carson tried to unsettle the striker by coming off the line but Defoe coolly lobbed the ball over Carson's head to score his sixth goal in as many matches.

Villa tried to chalk up a response with Ashley Young impressive on the right flank but were unable to find many openings in the Pompey defense. John Carew had a great chance to pull Villa level but failed to hit the target after doing well to beat two defenders.

Portsmouth doubled the lead in the 38th minute in a bizarre fashion when Carson's poor clearance struck Reo-Coker before rolling into the net. Aston Villa had a great chance to come back in the match minutes into the second half but Gabriel Agbonlahor was unable to convert from six yards out.

There was some late drama as first Sulley Muntari was sent off for Portsmouth in the 81st minute though numerical parity was restored eight minutes later when Olof Mellberg received a second yellow card.