No goal-fest this time. When Reading and Portsmouth last met, three months ago on the South Coast, they shared 11 goals. Yesterday, the contest was effectively over, the adrenalin extinguished, after only two minutes and 51 seconds when Ibrahima Sonko, the Reading defender, was sent off.

What followed was as inevitable as the new year hangover. Portsmouth’s record on their travels this season is impressive in the extreme and they sauntered to their seventh away win in the Barclays Premier League with the minimum of fuss.

Victory ended their run of four matches without a win, which included three defeats. Harry Redknapp, their manager, plotted a path with efficiency in mind, rather than entertainment, and his players carried it out perfectly. Once Sonko had gone, for a foul on Benjani Mwaruwari, there was little need for flair or fantasy.

“It was ruined as a spectacle for those who paid, but the referee [Mike Dean] didn’t have a lot of choice,” Redknapp said. “He was the last man and Benjani was in on goal. Once they went down to ten men, we had to make sure we kept the ball. We knew that if we stretched them, they would tire. Seven wins in our last eight away games is amazing.”

Reading could not have made a worse start. It was as if their senses were still scrambled from the 6-4 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, none more so than those of Sonko. He was culpable for at least three of the goals at White Hart Lane and was soon at fault again.

Sylvain Distin pumped forward a hopeful pass, Sonko allowed Mwaruwari to nip ahead in the chase and then clumsily brought him to the ground. It was the third spot-kick that he had conceded in Reading’s past four matches; this time, it was accompanied by a red card.

Fortune, though, smiled on Reading. Niko Kranjcar’s penalty, after a stuttering run-up, thudded against the right-hand post of Marcus Hahnemann and was cleared to safety. Portsmouth, who have not scored in six league matches at Fratton Park since beating Reading 7-4 in September, were thwarted by their profligacy.

However, the reprieve for Reading was temporary. After Bobby Convey had driven narrowly wide, Hahnemann erred in glaring fashion with a fumble from Sulley Muntari’s free kick. The ball hit Papa Bouba Diop, bounced off Kalifa Cissé and glanced off Sol Campbell before trickling almost apologetically over the line.

Convey was immediately sacrificed, with the more defensive André Bikey brought on, yet Portsmouth gathered confidence and momentum.

Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, left his usual first-half position in the stand to direct the salvage operation from the technical area. “We want seven,” the Portsmouth fans chanted, although their ambition did not appear to be shared by the players.

Portsmouth’s threat swiftly petered out. Once Reading had reorganised – they have experience, it was the fifth time they have had a player sent off this season – they almost equalised just before half-time. Stephen Hunt released Kevin Doyle, but David James was able to divert his well-struck effort around a post. Mwaruwari headed against the crossbar in first-half stoppage time but, from then on, Portsmouth seemed to lack adventure. One goal up, against depleted opposition, appeared a recipe for another goal romp. Not so; they probed delicately but rarely moved out of fourth gear.

“It was a chance to make amends after that 7-4 result,” Coppell said. “We wanted to have a go at them, put the pressure on, but then we were suddenly down to ten men. I thought it was a penalty and straight away I knew that it was a red card.”

Portsmouth simply bided their time and looked to land the knockout punch on the break, which they did when John Utaka outpaced Nicky Shorey, out-thought Hahnemann and prodded the ball in.

Coppell was none too happy, either, with Sunderland having made public their interest in Hunt, the Ireland winger. “I like to do business the old-fashioned way, when there is contact between the clubs,” Coppell said. “But there is no way that Stephen will be leaving the club.”

Although Redknapp will lose a quartet of players – Muntari, Bouba Diop, Utaka and Kanu – to the African Cup of Nations next week, he remains optimistic of bringing Uefa Cup football to Fratton Park. “I would love us to get into Europe,” he said.

Reading (4-4-2): M Hahnemann – G Murty, I Sonko, I Ingimarsson, N Shorey (sub: U De La Cruz, 71min) – S Hunt, K Cissé, J Harper, R Convey (sub: A Bikey, 7) – K Doyle (sub: S Long, 83), D Kitson. Substitutes not used: L Lita, A Federici. Booked: Murty, Bikey, Cissé. Sent off: Sonko.

Portsmouth (4-2-1-2-1): D James – G Johnson, S Campbell, S Distin, H Hreidarsson – S Muntari, R Hughes (sub: Lauren, 83) – P Bouba Diop – N Kranjcar (sub: M Taylor, 89), J Utaka – B Mwaruwari (sub: Kanu, 63). Substitutes not used: A Begovic, D Nugent. Booked: Hughes.

Referee: M Dean.