Portsmouth claimed their first win at Peterborough since 1961 to leapfrog their opponents in the bottom half of the Championship table.

Erik Huseklepp fired Pompey into an early lead and Jason Pearce's header doubled the advantage before half-time.

Huseklepp grabbed a late third to give Michael Appleton's side their first win in four games and move them up to 16th.

Defeat leaves 17th-placed Peterborough - now without a win in five matches - nine points above the relegation zone.

Portsmouth began with real purpose and after six minutes Marko Futacs's header was palmed away by Joe Lewis. Huseklepp eventually fired home the rebound for his fourth goal of the season.

Peterborough fought back and Pompey keeper Stephen Henderson was relieved to see Paul Taylor's long-range drive fly inches wide of his far post.

Kelvin Etuhu, playing his second match in Portsmouth colours, was causing the home defence problems and almost created a second goal.

He played in Liam Lawrence on the right, but the captain's shot was smartly tipped around the near post by Lewis.

A deserved second goal came five minutes before the break when defender Pearce's run went untracked by the Peterborough defence and he glanced home Lawrence's cross.

Where do they stand?

Defeat leaves 17th-placed Peterborough - now without a win in five matches - nine points above the relegation zone. Portsmouth are a point above them

The hosts rarely looked like reducing the deficit after the interval, belying their record as the second most prolific scorers in the Championship.

However, Taylor went on a mazy run and sent a shot from the edge of the box drifting wide, before Grant McCann saw a free-kick tipped around the post.

Portsmouth sealed victory thanks to a clinical finish from Huseklepp, who easily turned Ryan Bennett and bent the ball around Lewis and into the far corner.

Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson: "When you concede poor goals at this level you get punished.

"We have always known we could find ourselves in a tough run and we realise that everyone, including some of our fans, will be doubting us.

"But I don't have a problem with that. Myself and the players had a good chat in the dressing room immediately after the game and we are all up for the challenge of turning results around.

"We need to find a way of breaking opposition teams down but we are not going to change the way we play and I'm certainly not going to alter my philosophy.

"Doing things this way got us promoted and had us in the top half of the table earlier in the season."

Portsmouth boss Michael Appleton: "My big gripe with Erik is that he regularly shows flashes of brilliance but lacks the end product.

"We played him in a more advanced role today and he got his rewards with a couple of goals. It is something I expect to see him doing more often."

Lineup, Bookings (0) & Substitutions (4)

Peterborough United

  • 01 Lewis
  • 04 Bennett
  • 05 Zakuani
  • 27 Alcock
  • 11 McCann
  • 14 Rowe
  • 17 Newell (Ball - 53' )
  • 23 Frecklington (Tunnicliffe - 62' )
  • 08 Tomlin (Little - 60' )
  • 10 Boyd
  • 26 Taylor

Substitutes

  • 28 Jones
  • 02 Little
  • 16 Tunnicliffe
  • 09 Ball
  • 12 Sinclair

Portsmouth

  • 13 Henderson
  • 02 Ward
  • 03 Rocha
  • 05 Pearce
  • 15 Halford
  • 26 Ben-Haim
  • 07 Lawrence
  • 08 Mullins
  • 10 Huseklepp
  • 09 Futacs (Kitson - 81' )
  • 14 Etuhu

Substitutes

  • 01 Ashdown
  • 17 Williams
  • 31 Webster
  • 18 Kitson
  • 25 Mwaruwari
Ref: Webb
Att: 7,555

Match Stats

Shots

14 15

On target

4 5

Corners

2 4

Fouls

7 8

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +4:35

The referee blows his whistle to end the game.

90:00 +3:10

George Boyd takes a shot. Save by Stephen Henderson.

90:00 +1:14

Joel Ward takes a shot from just outside the penalty area clears the crossbar.

90:00 +0:42

Foul by Tommy Rowe on Liam Lawrence, free kick awarded. Greg Halford takes the free kick.

89:41

Gabriel Zakuani fouled by Dave Kitson, the ref awards a free kick. George Boyd takes the direct free kick.

83:58

Mark Little challenges Kelvin Etuhu unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Stephen Henderson.

82:21

Effort on goal by Joel Ward from just outside the area goes harmlessly over the target.

80:45

Tommy Rowe manages to make a clearance.

80:45 Substitution

Substitution Dave Kitson on for Marko Futacs.

80:45

Liam Lawrence takes the inswinging corner,

80:32

Liam Lawrence takes a shot. Save by Joe Lewis.

78:57

Assist by Kelvin Etuhu.

78:57 Goal scored

Goal - Erik Huseklepp - Peterboro 0 - 3 Portsmouth Goal scored by Erik Huseklepp from deep inside the penalty box to the bottom right corner of the goal. Peterborough 0-3 Portsmouth.

78:26

Paul Taylor takes a shot from just outside the penalty area clears the crossbar.

77:52

Unfair challenge on Ryan Bennett by Kelvin Etuhu results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Joe Lewis.

77:20

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Kelvin Etuhu by Craig Alcock. Liam Lawrence restarts play with the free kick.

76:18

Grant McCann produces a left-footed shot from long distance which goes wide right of the goal.

74:42

The ball is delivered by Paul Taylor.

74:09

Joel Ward produces a left-footed shot from just outside the penalty box that misses to the left of the goal.

73:21

Erik Huseklepp takes a shot. Joe Lewis makes a save.

71:55

Marko Futacs has an effort at goal from just inside the box that misses to the left of the target.

70:46

Shot by Tommy Rowe from outside the box goes over the net.

70:39

The ball is sent over by Mark Little, clearance by Jason Pearce.

69:27

Outswinging corner taken left-footed by Grant McCann from the right by-line, save by Stephen Henderson.

69:16

Tommy Rowe takes a shot. Save by Stephen Henderson.

68:26

Paul Taylor has an effort at goal from just outside the box which goes wide of the right-hand upright.

66:49

The assistant referee flags for offside against Marko Futacs. Indirect free kick taken by Joe Lewis.

65:54

Effort from long distance by Marko Futacs goes wide right of the goal.

64:20

Hayden Mullins gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Tommy Rowe. Shot comes in from Grant McCann from the free kick, Stephen Henderson makes a save. Grant McCann takes a inswinging corner to the near post, Liam Lawrence manages to make a clearance.

62:13

The ball is crossed by Mark Little, Stephen Henderson makes a save.

61:20 Substitution

Substitution Ryan Tunnicliffe joins the action as a substitute, replacing Lee Frecklington.

61:20

Paul Taylor challenges Tal Ben-Haim unfairly and gives away a free kick. Stephen Henderson restarts play with the free kick.

59:32 Substitution

Substitution Mark Little replaces Lee Tomlin.

56:20

Foul by Ricardo Rocha on George Boyd, free kick awarded. Grant McCann produces a strike on goal direct from the free kick.

52:52 Substitution

Substitution (Peterborough) makes a substitution, with David Ball coming on for Joe Newell.

51:24

Paul Taylor has shot on goal from just outside the box which goes wide of the right-hand upright.

51:10

Effort on goal by Marko Futacs from inside the penalty box misses to the right of the target.

49:12

Greg Halford fouled by Joe Newell, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Stephen Henderson.

45:40

The ball is sent over by Liam Lawrence, save made by Joe Lewis.

45:35

The ball is crossed by Liam Lawrence, Gabriel Zakuani manages to make a clearance.

45:19

The ball is delivered by Erik Huseklepp, clearance made by Gabriel Zakuani.

45:01

The referee blows his whistle to start the second half.

45:00 +2:01

The referee calls an end to the first half.

41:08

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Lee Tomlin by Jason Pearce. Strike comes in from Grant McCann from the free kick.

39:08

Liam Lawrence provided the assist for the goal.

39:08 Goal scored

Goal - Jason Pearce - Peterboro 0 - 2 Portsmouth Jason Pearce grabs a headed goal from inside the six-yard box. Peterborough 0-2 Portsmouth.

38:46

Corner taken by Liam Lawrence from the left by-line to the near post,

38:40

Kelvin Etuhu sends in a cross, clearance made by Joe Newell.

38:08

Paul Taylor fouled by Greg Halford, the ref awards a free kick. Lee Frecklington takes the free kick.

36:31

The assistant referee signals for offside against Marko Futacs. Joe Lewis takes the free kick.

35:32

Free kick awarded for a foul by Kelvin Etuhu on Grant McCann. Direct free kick taken by Grant McCann.

34:35

Hayden Mullins produces a right-footed shot from just outside the box that goes wide right of the goal.

32:07

The ball is crossed by Craig Alcock.

30:25

Shot from just outside the box by Kelvin Etuhu goes over the bar.

29:55

Liam Lawrence challenges Craig Alcock unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by George Boyd.

28:55

The ball is sent over by Tommy Rowe, clearance by Greg Halford.

27:24

Shot on goal by Lee Tomlin from just inside the area clears the crossbar.

24:14

Liam Lawrence sends in a cross.

23:13

Tal Ben-Haim sends in a cross. Outswinging corner taken by Liam Lawrence, clearance made by Gabriel Zakuani.

22:25

Liam Lawrence takes a shot. Save by Joe Lewis. Corner taken by Liam Lawrence, clearance by Ryan Bennett.

21:48

Kelvin Etuhu delivers the ball, Craig Alcock manages to make a clearance.

19:49

Paul Taylor has an effort at goal from outside the area which goes wide left of the target.

16:59

Erik Huseklepp delivers the ball, clearance by Ryan Bennett.

12:38

Effort from outside the penalty area by Lee Frecklington goes wide left of the target.

12:18

Tommy Rowe delivers the ball, clearance by Hayden Mullins.

11:23

Marko Futacs is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Free kick taken by Ryan Bennett.

8:31

Foul by Lee Frecklington on Greg Halford, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Stephen Henderson.

5:41

Erik Huseklepp produces a right-footed shot from deep inside the penalty area which goes wide of the right-hand post.

4:24

Assist by Marko Futacs.

4:24 Goal scored

Goal - Erik Huseklepp - Peterboro 0 - 1 Portsmouth Erik Huseklepp finds the net with a goal from close range to the bottom left corner of the goal. Peterborough 0-1 Portsmouth.

4:10

Joel Ward produces a cross, Gabriel Zakuani manages to make a clearance.

3:16

Grant McCann takes a shot from a long way out which goes wide of the right-hand post.

1:03

Free kick awarded for a foul by Tommy Rowe on Hayden Mullins. Liam Lawrence crosses the ball in from the free kick, clearance by Gabriel Zakuani.

0:53

Centre by Kelvin Etuhu, clearance by Ryan Bennett.

0:22

The ball is delivered by Tommy Rowe.

0:00

The referee gets the game underway.

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