Bill Edgar's tactical analysis

Three Portsmouth goals in as many minutes and one more than they had mustered in their seven previous visits to St James’ Park. Most of those involved could not recall a precedent, although Nicky Butt could, kind of.

Butt was in the Manchester United side that turned a three-goal deficit into a 5-3 victory away to Tottenham Hotspur six years ago. Not that Newcastle ever appeared capable of repeating such a feat, losing to Portsmouth at home for the first time since 1949.

“It was a disastrous first 11 minutes,” Butt, a renowned straight talker in the dressing-room, said, but even he was stunned into silence by Newcastle’s ineptitude. “If you’ve got something to say then you say it, but I didn’t feel like I had anything to say.”

The midfield player received his fifth booking of the season on Saturday and the subsequent suspension takes away one potential thorn in the flesh of Roy Keane, his former teammate, before Saturday’s trip to Sunderland. While Butt was correct in his assertion that Noé Pamarot’s opening goal from 25 yards was a “worldie” in its class, Benjani Mwaruwari and John Utaka were gifted their goals by Claudio Caçapa, the Newcastle defender, who suffered the indignity of substitution, uninjured, after 17 minutes. Less boy from Brazil, more little boy lost.

Benjani, the Barclays Premier League top scorer with eight goals, said: “It was all a little surprising at the start and I can’t remember being three goals up so early in a game. Maybe the last time it happened was at school.”

This was Newcastle’s first home defeat of the season. “I can’t cut out basic errors,” Sam Allardyce, the manager, said in attempting to absolve himself of blame by singling out individuals. So much for win as a team, lose as a team. He added: “When it boils down to two basic errors like it did, there’s very little as a manager you can do. Claudio’s one of those you thought wouldn’t make that type of mistake, but he has enough experience to accept he has. He will pick himself up.”

Hopefully for Caçapa’s sake, there will be more support from his manager when it comes to restoring his shattered confidence.

The heady heights of fourth place, courtesy of a two-month, seven-match unbeaten league run, have yet to persuade Harry Redknapp, the Portsmouth manager, to adopt anything other than a cautious approach. “You know what it’s like in this game - you get carried away; then you end up getting kicked in the teeth,” he said.

“At the start of the season, I’d have been happy with a top-half finish and I’ve not changed that view. There are plenty of big clubs below us who will come on runs. I think we can get into the Uefa Cup.”

When Sol Campbell unluckily deflected the ball past David James, his goalkeeper, for the contest’s fourth goal with a little more than a quarter of an hour played, Redknapp feared a second from Newcastle would have “the roof coming off”. For the host team, it was the wheels rather than a roof that had long since come off, as further defensive tomfoolery from Steven Taylor allowed a free kick by Niko Kranjcar to sail beyond Steve Harper.

Jonathan Woodgate, Middlesbrough’s former Newcastle defender, jokingly calls Harper, a close friend, the most red-faced man in football. After bearing the brunt of such an embarrassing display, the Newcastle goalkeeper needed little encouragement to live up to his uncharitable moniker.

How they rated

Newcastle 1 Campbell (og) 16

4-4-2 S Harper 4 S Taylor 3 C Caçapa 2 A Faye 3 J Enrique 4 C N’Zogbia 5 N Butt Y 5 J Barton 4 J Milner 6 A Smith Y 4 M Owen 5 Substitutes: D Rozehnal 6 (for Caçapa, 17min), O Martins 5 (for Enrique, 58), Emre Belözoglu 5 (for Milner, 69) Not used: F Forster, Gérémi Next: Sunderland (a)

Portsmouth 4 Pamarot 8, Mwaruwari 9, Utaka 11, Kranjcar 71

4-5-1 D James 8 G Johnson 7 S Campbell 7 S Distin Y 7 N Pamarot 7 J Utaka 8 P Bouba Diop 9 S Davis Y 6 S Muntari 8 N Kranjcar 7 B Mwaruwari 8 Substitutes Kanu (for Mwaruwari, 76), P Mendes (for Muntari, 88) Not used: J Ashdown, Lauren, M Taylor Next: Manchester City (h)

Referee C Foy

Attendance 51,490