Birmingham City’s top scorer Cameron Jerome bagged his sixth and seventh league strikes of the season to maintain his side’s excellent run of form and condemn sorry Pompey to yet another defeat.
Jerome, and strike partner Christian Benitez were the assassins in chief as Alex McLeish’s men paid their second visit to Fratton Park in quick succession, reversing the weekend’s FA Cup result with minimum fuss.
Jerome applied the finishing touches to two assists from Benitez, notching the first on 16 minutes after what had been a bright opening to the match from Pompey, fastening on to a neat through ball to slot past David James. Craig Gardner almost made it two on 26 minutes, his shot whistling by the post after more set-up play from busy bee Benitez, but three minutes short of the break a back heel from the Ecuadorian found Jerome once more who did the needful despite a lunging James.
In the second half, Portsmouth’s Frederic Piquionne spurned a great chance to get the home side back into the match on 60 minutes, just failing to connect with a cross from Nadir Belhadj. That was as close as the home side got in an insipid second half showing, with Birmingham cruising their way through until veteran substitute Nwankwo Kanu got his head to a Jamie O’Hara cross right on the stroke of full-time.
Portsmouth increased the urgency thereafter but time was against them, and their inexorable slide into the Championship continued unchecked, while Birmingham’s continuing solid form saw them rise to 8th in the table.