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A Louis Saha goal condemned Portsmouth to their seventh consecutive Premier League defeat, as they lost 1-0 to Everton at Fratton Park.

Saha struck three minutes from half-time, capitalising on a Younes Kaboul slip to net his seventh goal in as many games.

Paul Hart's side are still without a point this season, despite matching the visitors for much of the game and having a late Hassan Yebda header cleared off the line.

Paul Hart believes his side have performed better this season than their results suggest.

His argument was strengthened in an evenly-matched first half in which recent signings Kevin-Prince Boateng, Tommy Smith and Aruna Dindane looked particularly lively.

The latter two combined brilliantly for the home side's best chance of the opening period; Smith turned smartly to deliver a perfect through-ball to Dindane, whose shot brought a superb one-handed save from Tim Howard in the Everton goal.

At the other end, Tim Cahill tested David James with a long-range volley, while James saved with his feet to keep out a Marouane Fellaini header.

Despite the loss of captain Phil Neville to a knee injury, the presence on the bench of Ayegbeni Yakubu, Jo and Lucas Neill underlined Everton's new-found strength in depth.

Johnny Heitinga has stepped in for Neville at right-back, and although he set up the opening goal he looked shaky on his third Premier League appearance.

Pompey have paid a heavy price for individual errors this season, and it proved the case again three minutes before the break.

Heitinga hit a long diagonal ball to the edge of the box. There appeared no imminent danger, but Younes Kaboul misjudged the ball's flight and let in Saha, who controlled and finished with supreme confidence.

The injury-prone Frenchman has now scored seven goals in as many games, and is repaying Everton's gamble in signing him on a 'pay-as-you-play' deal in 2008.

The normally raucous Fratton Park crowd were unusually subdued, as though they have been kicked in the stomach so many times they dare not get their hopes up.

Tal Ben Haim headed powerfully goalwards on 51 minutes but Howard saved with his shoulder, but otherwise the visitors dominated.

Marouane Fellaini was unmarked at the back post but saw his header saved, while Cahill had an effort cleared off the line.

However, the home side roused themselves for a late charge, which began when Boateng was denied a penalty after clashing with Heitinga.

Two minutes later Smith headed across the face of goal for Aaron Mokoena, whose header hit the bar when it should have found the net.

Substitute Yebda saw his header cleared off the line by Leighton Baines, and Howard remained in defiant form to keep out a low Boateng strike in stoppage time.

Alex Chick / Eurosport