Portsmouth reiterated the fact that they are genuine contenders for a European spot at the end of the Premier League live season with a thumping 4-2 win over Birmingham City at Fratton Park last Wednesday.

Pompey were in great form in front of home fans and appear to have erased horrific memories of the Christmas fixtures when they could not buy a goal at Fratton Park. The arrival of Jermaine Defoe form Tottenham Hotspur has been a definite boost and he shone in this live premiership game as well.

Defoe opened the scoring inside the sixth minute when he converted a penalty after Milan Baros' cross was handled by David Murphy. Just two minutes later, Blues keeper Maik Taylor was able to palm away a blistering drive from Sulley Muntari and then again parry Baros' follow-up. However he was powerless when Defoe pounced upon the loose ball.

However the Blues reacted well and Liam Ridgewell nodded on a corner for Fabrice Muamba to slot home past David James in the 10th minute. Sebastian Larsson converted a free-kick that resulted when Forssell was brought down by Johnson in the 40th minute.

After the break Pompey came back with all cylinders firing and were rewarded when Hermann Hreidarsson slotted home after Ridgewell failed to clear a Muntari shot. Birmingham came close once again with Cameron Jerome, but were punished for their failure to grab an equalizer in the 90th minute when Kanu scored off Pedro Mendes' cross.

This was the Nigerian's first goal for Pompey since October last year. The win leaves Portsmouth on the sixth spot with 50 points from 30- games, while Birmingham are struggling with 26 points from 29 games at the 17th spot on the league table.