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The big screen at the gable end of the Bullens Road stand kept flashing up adverts for Goodison Park’s next league match, the Merseyside derby on September 27. Everton spent much of last season with hope of finishing higher than Liverpool. This time they look further than ever from their neigh-bours and the rest of the Big Four and maintaining the status of being “best of the rest” in the Premier League is going to be a struggle.

Portsmouth, beaten by Chel-sea and Manchester United in their opening games, may feel their season only began in earnest yesterday and this was impressive stuff. Fifth place is theirs if Harry Redknapp’s players can continue in this manner. Pompey were solid, slick and penetrative, all shield and rapier against Everton’s lumpen thrusts.

Alas, Fabio Capello, the England coach, was elsewhere. At Goodison he would have witnessed Glen Johnson, still not quite free of immaturity, but developing in a direction that could see him become England’s best football-playing right-back. He would have also seen Jermain Defoe suggest a solution to Capello’s striker problems. Playing off a big man - say Dean Ashton or yesterday’s accomplice, Peter Crouch - Defoe can be deadly and using such a combination for England could set Wayne Rooney free.

At the very least a place in the squad Capello will name today for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia, must be guaranteed. Defoe put Portsmouth ahead by producing an electric piece of play and lobbed Tim Howard contemp-tously for 3-0. Sandwiched between was a canny assist for Johnson’s goal. “I’m not sure what Mr Capello will do, he’s got Rooney there,” said Redknapp, “but Jermain’s a fantastic little player, a scorer with good ability. He’ll be in the squad, I’m sure.”

Redknapp changed his system yesterday, playing with three centre-halves and Johnson and Armand Traore as wing backs. It worked handsomely. Sol Campbell was protected from Yakubu’s pace and Johnson and Traore used their speed to dominate the flanks. Portsmouth’s shape suited the counter-attacking game Redknapp likes playing, giving them outlets going forward while rein-forcing their defensive core.

Everton were allowed plenty of ball but when they went upfield found goalkeeper David James shielded by six men, the centre-backs, Lassana Diarra doing a passable Claude Makele-le impression, and Johnson and Traore who tucked in. Everton did not have the guile to pass their way through the roadblocks Redknapp erected. They would huff their way over halfway and puff into the final third, where their moves would wither.

Yakubu did have the chance to score from a penalty when Johnson, daftly, blocked James Vaughan’s run, but the Nigeri-an, off a lazy run-up, spooned the ball straight at James.

Everton’s main problem was in centre midfield where they had Jack Rodwell, an impressive athlete and accomplished player at the age of 17, but educated in their academy as a centre-back. Alongside Rodwell was Phil Jagielka, another defender. Neither could pierce Pompey with passing.

You pitied the earnest Jagielka, cast as Everton’s playmaker, which was a bit like asking a banjo player to perform a violin concerto. Moyes is perfectly aware of the imbalances in his squad and his desire for a central, creative player has led to a long pursuit of Joao Moutinho. Unable to meet Sporting Lisbon’s £16m asking price, Moyes may look elsewhere.

“I’m going to try (to make a signing before the transfer window closes),” said Moyes. “We are lacking quality at the moment and we’re probably not ready to win Premier League games. We had Jagielka, a centre-back, and a 17-year-old, in the central area and that’s where we’re short. We had another youngster, James Vaughan, up front. That said, I don’t think these are necessarily the players letting us down. There are big players in the team who are not performing.”

Moyes may have had in mind Yakubu, Mikel Arteta and his centre-backs, Joleon Lescott and Joseph Yobo. Defoe’s opening goal disgusted him. It delighted the neutral. Crouch flicked on a long throw and Defoe gathered possession eight yards out, his back to Lescott and with Neville and Jagielka closing in. Switching the ball from instep to heel to instep once more, he maintained control of it in the tightest space then, just as the tackles were arriving, swivelled to tuck a shot past Howard.

James made a fine stop when Yakubu crossed and Arteta, arriving late, smashed a half-volley towards a large tract of unprotected net from close range. Portsmouth’s goalkeeper flew across and pushed it onto the post. Vaughan and Yakubu could not connect with good centres from Leighton Baines and Everton’s play began deteriorating. Johnson passed to Defoe and darted in from the right wing to receive the return ball and place the ball past Howard. 2-0.

For Pompey it got better, for Everton worse. Yakubu missed his penalty then Shaun Davis backheeled to Defoe who noted Howard was out of position and lofted the ball over the American who, falling back, managed to tip it against the underside of the bar. It bounced down and over the line.

Everton: Howard 6, Neville 6, Yobo 6, Lescott 6, Baines 7, Arteta 6, Jagielka 5, Rodwell 6, Osman 6 (Baxter 71min), Yakubu 5, Vaughan 6 (Anichebe 58min, 6)

Portsmouth: James 7, Johnson 7, Campbell 6, Kaboul 7, Distin 6, Diarra 6, Davis 6 (Mvuemba 90min), Diop 5, Traore 7 (Hreidarsson 77min), Crouch 7, Defoe 9 (Utaka 76min)

Star man: Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth)

Yellow card: Everton: Baines

Referee: M Halsey

Attendance: 34,418