Pompey fold allowing Austin to fire Burnley to rare win

Pompey went into the match buoyed by two consecutive home wins, but are now five points from safety with six games remaining. A first win in eight games means Eddie Howe’s side remain 16th in the table.

The visitors went in front with 16 minutes gone when Dean Marney’s low corner from the left flank was dummied to Trippier and the full-back sent a sweetly-struck drive into the bottom corner from 25 yards.

Portsmouth’s response was swift and clinical. Luke Varney scampered onto George Thorn’s pass down the right wing and cut the ball across goal for Norris to thump into the roof of the net.

Scott Allan fired narrowly over the angle of post and bar after Burnley defender David Edgar carelessly coughed up possession. But the Clarets almost took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Ben Mee’s strike took a deflection off Tal Ben Haim and forced Jamie Ashdown to make a superb save.

They were back in front two minutes after the restart courtesy of Ings’s measured glancing header from Edgar’s right-wing cross. Varney headed wide from Kelvin Etuhu’s cross as Pompey searched for an equaliser, but a staggering collapse followed.

Ross Wallace’s 74th-minute free-kick caused confusion inside the hosts’ penalty area and Austin was on hand with a predatory finish. Ashdown was forced to palm a goalbound cross from Chris McCann to safety before further gloss was added to the scoreline in stoppage time.

An under-hit backpass from Portsmouth centre-back Jason Pearce gifted former Swindon man Austin his 50th career goal and Junior Stanislas and McQuoid engineered a sweeping move for him to complete his hat-trick from close range.

Howe said: “I think we have the best strikers in the Championship. We have Charlie, Jay, Danny who are all top quality forwards.

“They are all very clinical and they showed that. Portsmouth dominated the first half but I thought we were excellent in the second period.”

Portsmouth: Ashdown, Ben-Haim, Halford, Pearce, Rekik, Allan (Futacs 69), Thorne (Scapuzzi 81), Norris, Ward (Etuhu 69), Maguire, Varney. Unused substitutes: Rocha,Harris.

Burnley: Grant, Trippier, Duff, Edgar, Mee (McQuoid 71), Wallace, Marney, McCann, Bartley, Ings (Stanislas 90), Paterson (Austin 52). Unused substitutes: Jensen, Hayieson.

Referee: S Attwell (Warwickshire).