Harry Redknapp was able to flick three fingers at Aston Villa supporters questioning his integrity on Saturday as Portsmouth supplied their manager with the perfect answer after his recent trials and tribulations. Eleven games unbeaten, Portsmouth moved into fifth place in the table after making the most of their good fortune when Craig Gardner put through his own goal after Wilfred Bouma had miscued Noé Pamarot’s mis-hit shot.

Although the nature of the match would have changed had Martin Laursen, the Villa defender, scored from either of two clear heading opportunities, Sulley Muntari then conjured up two brilliant goals with long-range shots either side of half-time that effectively sealed Portsmouth’s first top-flight victory at Villa Park in 52 years.

In between Muntari’s goals, Portsmouth played keep-ball with such mesmerising effect that they all but killed off the game. Niko Kranjcar, Pedro Mendes and Co kept the ball ticking around so neatly that the crowd were hushed and Villa crushed.

“Possession is key,” Redknapp said. “You keep turning the ball over [the top], you are going to invite pressure. You’ve got to be brave - you’ve got to play from the back, you’ve got to play in the midfield and you’ve got to be bold enough. I used to say to Rio Ferdinand [when he played under Redknapp at West Ham United], ‘Rio, play, don’t kick the ball upfield, don’t kick it in the crowd, play, even if you make a ricket.’ When he made one or two mistakes early in his career, people jumped all over him. I said, ‘Don’t worry, keep passing the ball.’ ” Martin O’Neill’s team have too much about them, however, to accept that a three-goal deficit is beyond them and, when Sylvain Distin tripped Ashley Young, Gareth Barry smashed home the penalty to set up a barnstorming finale in which Gabriel Agbonlahor headed against the bar as Villa resorted to a 3-1-2-4 formation. Bravery comes in various shapes and sizes.

After four successive victories, Villa have come back down to earth with successive home defeats, but Redknapp, despite winning this battle with one of their main rivals outside the top four, does not believe European competition is necessarily on Portsmouth’s horizon – mainly because an African variety is. “I could show you my squad: we go down to 14 [outfield players] when the African Nations Cup comes next month, when Muntari, Kanu, John Utaka and Benjani Mwaruwari will be called up. They are big players to lose for six games and we haven’t got the back-up at the moment, Redknapp said”

Aston Villa (4-4-2): S Carson 6 - O Mellberg 5, Z Knight 5, M Laursen 4, W Bouma 5 (sub: P Berger 6, 54min) – C Gardner 4 (sub: M Harewood 71), N Reo-Coker 5, G Barry 6, A Young 6 – G Agbonlahor 6, J Carew 4. Substitutes not used: S Taylor, C Davies, S Maloney. Booked: Carew, Berger. Next: Sunderland (a).

Portsmouth (4-1-4-1): D James 7 – G Johnson 8, S Distin 7, S Campbell 7, N Pamarot 6 – P Mendes 7 – J Utaka 5 (sub: Kanu 65, 5), S Muntari 7, P Bouba Diop 6, N Kranjcar 7 (sub: M Taylor, 88) – B Mwaruwari 7.Substitutes not used: A Begovic, H Hreidarsson, D Nugent. Booked:Bouba Diop, Johnson, James, Pamarot, Kranjcar. Next: Tottenham Hotspur (h).