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Josh Murphy (left) scored his fifth goal - and second against Swansea - since joining Portsmouth last summer Portsmouth climbed out of the Championship's bottom three thanks to a thumping victory over Swansea City. Josh Murphy's crisp first-time finish gave the hosts a 22th-minute lead, before Paddy Lane poked home the second seven minutes later. Swansea briefly threatened to mount a comeback after the break, with Josh Tymon going closest when he rattled the woodwork, but Ryley Towler's header eased any Portsmouth nerves and Cyrus Christie's error allowed Colby Bishop to wrap up a comprehensive win. While John Mousinho's team have struggled on the road this season, a sharp upturn in home form has breathed life into their bid to avoid an immediate return to League One. Portsmouth have now collected 13 points from the past five games on their ground and scored 14 goals in the process. But it was a dreadful afternoon in the Fratton Park rain for Swansea, who slip to 12th after some hapless defending contributed to their heaviest defeat of the season. Portsmouth are a point clear of the relegation zone in 21st. These two sides drew in south Wales just over a month ago, when Swansea came back from 2-0 down to claim a point having been troubled by Portsmouth's high press. The same approach paid dividends once more for Pompey – and this time Luke Williams' team could not muster a response. It was Portsmouth's refusal to allow Swansea to settle in possession which brought the opening goal, the home side striking after Zak Swanson dispossessed Liam Cullen near halfway. After a swift exchange of passes with Lane, Swanson's whipped cross allowed Murphy to steer the ball high into Lawrence Vigouroux's net. Portsmouth kept on pressing, and Swansea continued to wobble. The second goal came after a Vigouroux pass was intercepted, with Harry Darling's attempted clearance headed back into the penalty area by Connor Ogilvie. Amid indecision in the Swansea defence, Tymon's weak header allowed Lane to poke in his first goal of the season. Only then did Swansea begin to turn their control of possession into an attacking threat, with Eom Ji-Sung denied by Swanson's recovery challenge before Cullen headed over. Swansea's best chance of the half came just before the break, when Florian Bianchini headed too close to Portsmouth keeper Nicolas Schmid with the goal at his mercy. Colby Bishop's goal was his third since he returned to action in November after heart surgery There were further opportunities as Swansea applied pressure early in the second period, with Eom denied by a sharp Schmid save, before the South Korean's reverse pass saw Tymon smash a shot from a tight angle against the bar. Yet any home concerns were eased after Jay Fulton's foul on Bishop gave away a cheap free-kick. Freddie Potts delivered from the left and Towler brushed off the attentions of Eom to beat Vigouroux from eight yards. The Swansea stopper then denied Callum Lang and Murphy, before Bianchini found the Portsmouth net with a header only to be flagged offside. There was more misery to come for Swansea 12 minutes from time, as substitute Christie miscontrolled in his own area and Murphy squared for Bishop to score from close range. Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho: "A brilliant win. Great to get a clean sheet, great to score four goals and the performance backed it up against what I think is a really, really good side. "Swansea can cause you all sorts of problems and sometimes you do have to ride your luck. At 2-0 we were a bit fortunate not to concede a goal, but at the same time we had plenty of chances in the first half. "Against Swansea, I think they are the best side in the league for possession, maybe apart from Leeds. They are fantastic the way they dominate the ball, the way they rotate. "But I thought we dealt with that really well. I think three of the four goals are from the way that we press, then we got the set-piece as well. " Swansea head coach Luke Williams: "We struggled to get to grips with the conditions and the opposition were excellent. "It was a very bad day at the office. If we want to be a better team then we have to find a level of consistency. "The last two performances before this were excellent. "That's the type of team we want to be week in, week out and that's what we are building towards. " Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 1st January 2025 at 21: 55 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: John Mousinho Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Luke Williams Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: John Mousinho Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Luke Williams Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Portsmouth are unbeaten in their last 12 league games against Swansea City (W4 D8) since losing 4-0 in December 1960. Swansea have not scored in any of their last five league games at Fratton Park against Portsmouth (D3 L2) since drawing 1-1 in 1960. Portsmouth have only lost their opening league game of the year in two of the last nine years (W5 D2) and beat Stevenage 2-1 in 2024. Swansea City have won their last two league games played on New Year’s Day, winning 4-1 at Reading in 2019 and 1-0 at home to West Brom last year. Portsmouth have been victorious in just two of their last 12 home league games against Welsh sides (D5 L5). Match ends, Portsmouth 4, Swansea City 0. Second Half ends, Portsmouth 4, Swansea City 0. Harry Darling (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Elias Sørensen (Portsmouth). Substitution, Portsmouth. Christian Saydee replaces Colby Bishop. Substitution, Portsmouth. Elias Sørensen replaces Callum Lang. Fourth official has announced 4 minutes of added time. Eom Ji-Sung (Swansea City) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Zak Swanson (Portsmouth). Liam Cullen (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Matt Ritchie (Portsmouth). Corner, Portsmouth. Conceded by Cyrus Christie. Corner, Portsmouth. Conceded by Joshua Key. Attempt missed. Terry Devlin (Portsmouth) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Substitution, Portsmouth. Terry Devlin replaces Josh Murphy. Offside, Portsmouth. Callum Lang is caught offside. Foul by Zan Vipotnik (Swansea City). Marlon Pack (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Goal! Portsmouth 4, Swansea City 0. Colby Bishop (Portsmouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Josh Murphy. Substitution, Swansea City. Joshua Key replaces Ben Cabango because of an injury. © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.