It should not be logically or physically possible: Peter Crouch, 6ft 7in of bone and beanpole, rising high into the air, twisting himself almost upside down and scoring with a remarkable overhead kick. Yet at Fratton Park yesterday, for the third time in his career, he again proved his acrobatic genius.

Crouch, who has been recalled to the England squad, did it twice for Liverpool, against Galatasaray in a Champions League match in September 2006 and against Bolton Wanderers in a Premier League match in January last year. Stoke City became the latest victims, when Air Crouch took off to meet a cross by Jermain Defoe and spectacularly steered the ball past Steve Simonsen.

Harry Redknapp, the Portsmouth manager, was not surprised. “Peter has got such great volleying technique and his body position is superb,” he said. “I tell him how it’s done, but I’m not sure I could show him. What a great finish.”

Crouch’s flying effort came after a period of sustained Portsmouth pressure. Even though they had played until after midnight on Thursday, edging past Vitória Guimarães into the group phase of the Uefa Cup, they showed few signs of tiredness. Perhaps a therapeutic dip in the Atlantic Ocean off Portugal the next morning had had the desired effect. “There was no ice bath, so next best was the freezing cold sea,” Redknapp said.

Stoke did little but defend, but when they did attack it was mainly through the Herculean throw-ins of Rory Delap. Ugly it might be, but David James, the Portsmouth and England goalkeeper, grew increasingly perplexed at how to deal with the onslaught. Hopefully, Kazakhstan will not have such a prodigious hurler at Wembley on Saturday.

Portsmouth could have romped clear before half-time, such was their dominance, but Stoke are nothing if not stubborn — as witnessed in their goalless draw against Liverpool at Anfield last month. “We’ve been competitive in every game this season,” Tony Pulis, their manager, said. “But it’s a league that will punish you if you’re not right on it.”

Three minutes into the second half Delap hurled in another Exocet — his seventh of the match — and Ricardo Fuller nodded the ball in from close range after Dave Kitson’s flick-on. Defoe, a jack-in-the-box presence throughout, restored the lead three minutes later — seconds after he had rattled a post — when he drove home his sixth goal in seven matches past Simonsen.

Only Simonsen’s agility prevented a beating, but Stoke should not fret too long. When the Premier League resumes after the international break, they should secure a shoo-in victory at home to tottering Tottenham.

Portsmouth (4-4-2): D James 5 — G Johnson 7, S Campbell 7, S Distin 7, N Belhadj 6 — P Bouba Diop 5, S Davis 5, R Hughes 6, A Traoré 7 (sub: H Hreidarsson, 90min) — J Defoe 7, P Crouch 7. Substitutes not used: J Ashdown, Y Kaboul, N Pamarot, A Mvuemba, G Little, Kanu.

Stoke City (4-4-2): S Simonsen 8 — A Griffin 6, L Cort 5, Abdoulaye Faye 5, D Higginbotham 5 — R Delap 6 (sub: R Cresswell, 74), S Olofinjana 5, Amdy Faye 5, M Tonge 4 (sub: T Soares, 66 5) — D Kitson 5 (sub: M Sidibe, 61 5), R Fuller 6. Substitutes not used: G Whelan, R Shawcross, A Wilkinson, I Sonko. Booked: Olofinjana, Simonsen, Amdy Faye.