Colchester United 0 Portsmouth 4

Colchester United suffered a heavy home defeat at the hands of lethal Portsmouth in a one-sided League Two contest at the Weston Homes Community Stadium this afternoon.

Trailing 1-0 at half-time, to Eoin Doyle’s 21st minute header, the U’s shipped three more goals in the second period with Kyle Bennett (46), Danny Rose (61) and Michael Doyle (73) all on target.

Pompey dominated the first quarter of the game and they deservedly took the lead through Eoin Doyle’s deadly finish on 21 minutes.

Kai Naismith’s cross soared over centre-half Cameron James, and Doyle’s downward header flew past keeper Sam Walker from close range.

Paul Cook’s men doubled their lead, just 40 seconds into the second half.

Elokobi could only-half clear from just outside the six-yard box, and Bennett swept home from a central position following Naismith’s low cross.

It was all over for the U’s, when they leaked a third goal in the 61st minute.

Walker did well to block the initial shot from Rose, who was clean through, but Pompey’s midfielder was able to slot home the rebound into an unguarded net from a few yards out.

Michael Doyle made it 4-0 in the 73rd minute, again after Walker had initially done well to beat away a goal-bound drive by Naismith. Skipper Doyle swept into an empty net – he could hardly miss.

The U’s can certainly have no complaints with this result, and the score-line certainly did not flatter the Fratton Park side.

It was Pompey who threatened first, Carl Baker’s dangerous delivery from the right flank flying across the face of goal and wide on eight minutes, with no team-mate on hand to divert home.

And Sam Walker was the first keeper to be called into action. He dropped to his knees to smother Naismith’s rather optimistic 30-yarder, in the 11th minute.

Walker was in the right place again, just two minutes, when clinging onto an angled thunderbolt from left-back Enda Stevens, in front of his near post.

Pompey continued to press, and George Elokobi hoofed the ball off the goal-line following Eoin Doyle’s looping header from Naismith’s 18th minute cross.

But the visitors were ahead just three minutes later, through Eoin Doyle’s downward header.

The U’s had rarely been out of their own half during the first half-hour, although Drey Wright did burst past a couple of challenges down the right to earn a corner, in the 33rd minute. From this, Sean Murray’s 25-yard volley ballooned well over the bar.

Otherwise, Pompey remained on the front foot, and Walker was relieved to see another well-struck shot by Stevens whistle past his far upright.

A lapse in concentration by Elokobi almost let in front-runner Eoin Doyle in the 39th minute, although his final shot, at full stretch, soared over the bar.

The U’s were a shade fortunate to be only 1-0 down at half-time, but they were soon trailing by twice that margin when Bennett swept Pompey into a two-goal lead within 40 seconds of the restart.

John McGreal’s men tried to respond quickly, and Chris Porter came close to steering home a low cross from by Brennan Dickenson. The U’s striker arrived just a split-second too late to divert home.

At the other end, Stevens flashed another well-struck shot just a foot wide of the far post, as Pompey searched for a killer third goal around the hour mark.

And they did make it 3-0, in the 61st minute, thanks to Rose burying a close-range shot at the second attempt, after Walker had saved his initial effort.

Skipper Michael Doyle made it 4-0, with 17 minutes remaining.

Squads

COLCHESTER: Walker, James, Elokobi, Briggs, Wright (sub Vincent-Young, 65), Lapslie, Garvan (sub Bonne, 68), Murray, Dickenson, Szmodics (sub Fosu, 46) , Porter. Unused subs: Barnes, Wynter, Pyke, Kinsella.

PORTSMOUTH: Forde, Evans, Burgess, Clarke, Stevens, M Doyle, Rose, Baker, Naismith (sub Hunt, 74), Bennett (sub Roberts, 77), E Doyle (sub Chaplin, 84). Unused subs: O’Brien, Davies, Lowe, Linganzi.

Referee: Darren England (Yorkshire)

Attendance: 6,504 (2,244 away fans)