Stoke City have been leapfrogged by Portsmouth at the wrong end of the Championship after never recovering from a horror start at Fratton Park.

Stoke were 2-0 down inside nine minutes, with a controversial referee’s decision thrown in for good measure, and went on to lose 3-1 in a result that leaves them only two points above the bottom three, even if it was their first defeat since Boxing Day.

Colby Bishop smacked in the opener from the penalty spot after ref Josh Smith had penalised new signing Josh Wilson-Esbrand for an alleged foul on Callum Lang. Lang made it two himself after Ben Wilmot made a howler as he tried to deal with a long ball, allowing the forward to walk through and head over Viktor Johansson.

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Wilmot pulled one back and Stoke looked better as the first half went on – but then never got going in the second half. They were 3-1 down in the 49th minute when Connor Ogilvie was free to lash home at the back post when the ball dropped to him from a corner.

A bad night got worse in injury time when Wilmot was KO-ed in a challenge by Terry Devlin and had to be helped off by two physios.

Portsmouth, full of confidence at home, had started at 100mph and were given a huge helping hand by Smith. It was a surprise and very soft decision to award the hosts a penalty. Wilson-Esbrand jumped with Lang, who fell over. Stoke had been at least equally as weak in the build-up, however, as Wouter Burger and Tatsuki Seko were brushed aside as Portsmouth broke. Bishop smashed the spot kick into the top left corner.

Stoke had no one to blame but themselves for the second and specifically Wilmot, who horribly misread a long ball, hooked a leg at it and allowed Lang in to head it over Johansson from just inside the area. Only nine minutes had gone and Portsmouth fans, in memory of the reverse fixture, were singing: “We want six.”

From that point, Stoke seemed to gradually wake up. Lewis Baker crashed a long ranger just past the right post while in space before Wilmot reduced the deficit. Baker played a short corner to Seko, who touched it back for Wilson-Esbrand to swing in a first-time cross, curling to the back post for the centre-back to head past Nicolas Schmid.

But if Stoke didn’t want the first half to end, they started the second like they’d started the evening, with more very loose defending. A Portsmouth corner dropped at the feet of Ogilvie, with Baker getting lost along the way, and he lashed past Johansson.

Stoke ended a bad game in a furious mood as Devlin launched himself into a full-blooded tackle on Wilmot, who needed lengthy physio treatment. Burger and Johansson were both booked for dissent, with captain Johansson running over to remonstrate with the fourth official he was so frustrated by the decision. The 947 travelling Stoke fans will want to forget the night as soon as possible but Wilmot, as he limped up the tunnel, won't be able to.

Here are the player ratings from Fratton Park...

Johansson: Couldn’t do anything about opening goals and made some smart saves, getting ball away from danger area. 6

Tchamadeu: Caught out of position occasionally – and offside too – but undoubtedly committed. 5

Wilson-Esbrand: Let down by a soft referee’s decision with early penalty. Excellent cross for Wilmot goal. 5.5

Phillips: Has to aim to be more dominant in the air. Not at his sharpest. 5

Wilmot: Will be haunted by Portsmouth’s second when he completely misread long ball. Made partial amends by getting on scoresheet himself. Looked like bad injury at end. 5

Seko: Too easily brushed off the ball at times and his passing wasn’t at its sharpest either on a tough night for midfielder. 4

Baker: Went close with 25-yarder in first half. Lost Ogilvie for Portsmouth third and didn’t look entirely comfortable when defending. 5

Burger: Helped Stoke to put together some decent moves as they chased a way back into game in first-half. Would clearly benefit from beefing up quite a lot. 5.5

Moran: Not affecting the game as much as is needed at the moment and no surprise he was subbed on hour mark. 4

Koumas: Willing to keep trying his luck against Jordan Williams but rash when he got space to shoot. Moved across in closing stages without finding solution. 5

Ennis: First league start since April last season. Enthusiastic if a little rusty. 5

Substitutes

Rose (for Tchamadeu, 59): Rare appearance as he was brought on in defensive shuffle. 5.5

Junho (for Seko, 59): Trying to find his feet again with cameos. 5.5

Lowe (for Moran, 59): Offered something different in the forward line but Stoke couldn’t provide the service. 6

Stevens (for Wilson-Esbrand, 67): Experience had been missed in opening stages and he makes game look a lot easier than anyone else. 6

Lawal (for Wilmot, 90): On in place of injured Wilmot for last few seconds. N/A

Not used: Bonham, Vidigal, Lawal, Tezgel, Lipsiuc.

Referee: Josh Smith (Northamptonshire) 2

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