SAINTS handed out a footballing lesson to Portsmouth's youngsters last night at St Mary's.

A Saints team in which every player had Premiership experience proved far too strong for a Portsmouth side made up of youth team players aged between 15 and 20.

The game was totally one-sided after the first half hour and in the second half the scoreline looked for a time as if it could reach double figures as Saints ran riot.

In contrast, the first period of the match was a tight and tense affair and Portsmouth were arguably slightly the better team.

Andrea Guatelli in the visitors' goal, Pompey's only senior player on display, had a busy time.

Brett Ormerod was twice denied while the keeper also had to be on his guard to block efforts from Jo Tessem and a deflected Yoann Folly shot.

Alan Blayney wasn't called into action until 22 minutes when James Keene fired at him.

But there was nothing he could do to stop a thunderbolt of a strike from Liam Horsted from 25 yards that flew into the top corner of the net on 25 minutes to give Portsmouth the lead.

That sparked a goalrush for Saints as they stepped up their efforts.

Saints were level on 37 minutes when Fabrice Fernandes nodded home unmarked in the centre of the penalty area.

And moments later there was drama aplenty when Saints were awarded a penalty after Folly was brought down in the area by Phil Cousins.

Guatelli dived to his right to stop Ormerod's spot-kick but the linesman raised his flag to indicate the keeper was off his line and ordered the penalty to be retaken.

This time the duty fell to Danny Higginbotham and the captain buried his effort by sending Guatelli the wrong way.

Things got even better for Saints when they added a third goal in seven minutes when Folly finished superbly into the bottom corner with the outside of his boot after Leandre Griffit's cut-back from the left.

It took Saints just 12 minutes of the second half to stretch their lead still further to 4-1 when Andreas Jakobsson powered into the box to head home a Griffit corner, leaving the Portsmouth defence standing.

And the goals kept coming when on the hour mark Ormerod got in on the act.

Tessem played Ormerod through and, though the Saints striker looked offside, the linesman's flag stayed down and he lifted his shot over the advancing Guatelli.

SAINTS: Blayney, Kenton (MacDonald 45), Jakobsson, Higginbotham, Dodd, Fernandes, Oakley, Folly (Sparv 70), Griffit, Ormerod, Tessem (McGoldrick 78).

Unused subs: Dyer, Poke.

POMPEY: Guatelli, Angus Donaghey, Harris, Day, Pearce, Cousins (Eyles 87), Wilson (Bye 61), Keene, Settle (Hartman 61), Horsted. Unused sub: Harris.

Att: 1,052.