Stoke City 6-1 Portsmouth: Tom Cannon scores four goals in Potters win

The Potters flew out of the traps in the early stages and Ben Wilmot crashed into the crossbar from just outside the penalty area after just 30 seconds.

That set the stage for an outstanding performance and the home side were rewarded when Cannon's free-kick bounced just in front of Pompey goalkeeper Will Norris, who was involved in his shot but was unable to keep it out.

Norris briefly made amends when he called for a free-kick and quickly threw it to Josh Murphy, who broke away before finding the net for O'Mahony, who equalized from 12 yards.

Stoke regained the lead just before half-time when Gallagher pushed a lovely ball through Cannon and fired it into the top corner just off the post.

The game ended in first-half injury time for John Mousinho's side when Norris saw a poor pass intercepted by Moran, who set up Gallagher and fired home from the edge of the box.

Shortly after the break, Cannon was brought down in the penalty area by Norris after Murphy hesitated to deflect a loose ball, and the 21-year-old striker tapped out to complete his hat-trick.

Cannon, who is on loan from Premier League club Leicester, scored his fourth goal three minutes later when Bae Junho pulled him back and fired it across goal and into the bottom corner.

Moments later, Junho played a ball infield for Moran, who fired home from 20 yards, completing Stoke's win over Portsmouth in five merciless minutes early in the second half.

Pompey were able to prevent Stoke from creating any further clear-cut chances, but the damage was done by the Potters, who scored five goals in 13 minutes either side of half-time.

O'Mahony's first goal since joining on loan from Brighton was just a consolation in a defeat that leaves Portsmouth in 23rd place and only ahead of bottom side Cardiff City on goal difference, although they too have suffered a serious setback.

A first win in four games for Stoke moved them up six places to 15th.