Adams to keep faith with ‘fantastic’ Defoe despite goal drought

JERMAIN DEFOE’S missed penalty against his old club proved costly as West Ham romped to a vital win at Portsmouth to ease the pressure on manager Gianfranco Zola.

Defoe had the chance to put Pompey ahead on the stroke of half-time but fired wide, allowing West Ham to capitalise with second-half goals from Craig Bellamy, who netted twice, and Carlton Cole.

Nadir Belhadj had earlier given Portsmouth an early lead, but Jack Collison equalised to send the Hammers on their way to only their second win in 13 league games.