STOKE CITY RESERVES 4 (Nicholls 9, Moult 62, Lund 78, 89)
PORTSMOUTH RESERVES 0
Goals from Andrew Nicholls, Louis Moult and Matthew Lund (2) ensured a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Portsmouth in a Barclays Premier Reserve League South clash at the Weaver Stadium.
City went in at the break one-nil up after Nicholls had tucked home a rebound, before Moult and Lund added their names to the scoresheet in the second period.
Mark O'Connor named several first teamers in the side with Amdy Faye, Andy Wilkinson and Danny Pugh amongst those names in the starting eleven.
Moult, fresh from signing his first ever professional contract last week and another substitutes' bench appearance at the weekend, operated as the lone front man for the evening.
An opposition striker created the first chance of the game though in the fifth minute, as Nicholls' clearance out of the box was picked up by Thomas Kilbey who shot narrowly wide of Asmir Begovic's left hand post.
It was the Potters who broke the deadlock however four minutes later.
Nicholls was again involved as he tapped home the rebound from Cameron Mitchell's shot after Portsmouth goalkeeper Liam O'Brien could only parry his low drive.
Moult was close to adding another midway through the half when he anticipated Tero Mantyla's clearance but just couldn't get enough of his outstretched boot to the ball to divert it beyond the keeper.
Nicholls then went for his second goal of the evening with a curling effort from the edge of the area after Wilkinson had cleverly teed him up from Mitchell's cross field pass.
At the other end, James Hurst tried a speculative effort on the half hour mark with his 30 yard strike hitting the crossbar before the ball was cleared to safety as Kilbey looked to convert the rebound.
Former Crewe Alexandra midfielder Eugen Bopp also had two chances for Pompey before the break, one a free kick and another a long range strike, but both sailed over the crossbar.
The visitors then had a claim for a penalty turned down by the referee just after the restart as Danijel Subotic went down easily under pressure from half-time substitute Nick Jackson.
On 62 minutes Stoke doubled their advantage through Moult when he converted from inside the box for his fifth reserve goal of the season, after good build up play down the left hand side.
Two became three with twelve minutes remaining on the clock as Lund was first to react when O'Brien saved Moult's initial goalbound header.
With the game reaching its conclusion Lund did well to dispossess the Portsmouth full back on the left hand side and advanced forward into the area to bury the ball convincingly past O'Brien to notch a brace against the opposition he also scored against last week.
Five minutes of stoppage time followed after Bopp had earlier been forced to leave the pitch on a stretcher with an ankle injury but the Potters finished as comfortable winners to record their third victory of the season.
CITY (4-1-4-1): Begovic; Hedley (Jackson 46), Sinclair, Davies, Wilkinson (c); Amdy Faye; Mitchell, Lund, Pugh (Vickers 68), Nicholls; Moult. Subs (Not Used): Parton (gk), Wint.
PORTSMOUTH (4-4-2): O'Brien; Ryan, Mantyla, Ward (c), Sowah; Hurst, Cuvelier (Ciftci 46), Bopp (Goddard 70), Nlundulu; Kilbey, Subotic (Navas Alors 69). Subs (Not Used): Stockford.
