Pompey gave a debut to Jason Pearce at centre back the former Bournemouth player having served his three match ban carried over from last season. Hermann Hreidarsson made way and along with Christian Dailley was left out of the matchday squad all together. Joel Ward dropped to the bench and Dave Kitson - who was given a loud, cheering welcome by the travelling Reading fans - started.
Both teams approached the match with a positive, attacking mindset from the whistle.
In the opening exchanges Luke Varney found himself clear down the left hand flank - the linesman missing what looked like an obvious offside decision - but the move broke down.
Reading's ability to surge forward quickly on the break was highlighted very early on - Kitson losing the ball in the opponent's half in the opening minutes on more than one occasion.
The Royals used Kebe as their main outlet down the right hand flank and attacked The Fratton End with relish.
Jobi McAnuff and vetran Ian Harte also stood out for the visitors, the latter pinging the ball around the pitch with his cultured left foot and playing long passes down the flanks.
Despite the loss of striker Shane Long to WBA the previous week, Reading looked to be maintaining the good form from last season that saw them storm in to the Championship Playoffs.
Both teams created good openings in the first half. For Pompey Greg Halford smashed a long range drive from the edge of the penalty box against the cross bar and for Reading Kebe hit the right hand upright after a super cross was played in to the box by McAnuff.
Pompey had two excellent opportunities to take the lead during the first period.
David Norris, who always looked to surge forward in to the box from midfield, skewed the ball wide after good work by Luke Varney down the left hand side to create the opening.
The best Pompey chance of the half fell to Kitson who manouvred himself into an excellent goal scoring position to the right of the goal but his shot was blocked out by Reading's America goalkeeper Adam Federici and the danger passed.
First Half Action
HT: Portsmouth 0-0 Reading
The second half started in the same vein as the first with Luke Varney having the first of three excellent heading opportunities to score. He has a good spring on him.
The goal came six minutes in to the second half, Lawrence delivered a good corner in to the danger area and there was Kitson to knock the ball home from close range. He appeared to connect with the ball on the way down from a leap in the air, on the volley. His own personal celebration was a tad on the quiet side but there was elation from his team mates and the Fratton Park crowd.
Reading pushed forward looking for an equaliser but it was a frustrating evening for the visitors. Jamie Ashdown made an excellent save from Karacan's long distance strike to maintain Pompey's lead. The away fans appealed very loudly for what they saw as a handball in the penalty area but the linesman didn't signal and referee Andy D'Urso wasn't moved. There was little dissent from the Reading players.
One moment of controversy came when Noel Hunt clashed with Jason Pearce. The two had a brief altercation a few moments before the main incident which happened moments later. As the ball was played forward and Pearce steadied himself to head the ball Hunt only with eyes for the Pompey defender clattered him with his forearm. He received a yellow card for his trouble.
The biggest cheer of the night came on 76 minutes when Steve Cotterill brought on Benjani to replace Kanu.
The King had a very good match, his best for some time, he linked up play well, used the ball effectively and in the second half caused Federici to make one good save from a long distance shot. He was named the official sponsor's MOTM.
Benjani buzzed around up front in that familar style and caused one or two minor problems for the Reading defence but there is clearly still more to come from the Zimbabwean.
Pompey survived the five minutes of added time and closed the match out pretty well to deservedly secure all three points.
This had been Pompey's best performance at Fratton Park for quite some time and the result was merited against a Reading team that is clearly going to be one of the Championship's front-runners this season.
The performance of Jason Pearce in the heart of Pompey's defence was a revelation. He won ball after ball, put his head in where it hurt, he caused trouble at set-pices in the opposition's penalty box and he dished out orders to those around him. He made Greg Halford - who also had a very good game - look like the junior partner. It bodes well for the future.
FT: Portsmouth 1-0 Reading
Second Half Action
FT: Portsmouth 1-0 Reading
Portsmouth versus Reading: Jamie Ashdown, Aaron Mokoena, Greg Halford, Jason Pearce, Tal Ben Haim, Liam Lawrence, Hayden Mullins, David Norris, Luke Varney, Kanu and Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Stephen Henderson, Ricardo Rocha, Benjani, Ryan Williams and Joel Ward.
Attendance: 13,438
Pompey MOTM: The official award went to Kanu, who had a very good game. However, I would have given the MOTM award to Jason Pearce.
Next up for Pompey: Bristol City at Ashton Gate in The Championship on 20th August, kick-off 3PM.
Source for Portsmouth FC line-up and attendance figure: www.portsmouthfc.co.uk
After The Match - Pictures Of Fratton Park Floodlights
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