Pompey had the best of the early play, although Palace soon found themselves two goals to the good as they struck twice shortly after the quarter hour mark; one bundled in by Shipperley (with a little help from Guatelli) and the second a powerful Wayne Andrews strike from the edge of the box.
Kevin Harper nodded in from a corner in the second half, although the equaliser never came. Instead it was Palace who made sure of the victory late on, Grabban rounding the keeper confidently. Pompey had had their fair share of chances and played some incisive football at times, but at the end of the day the goals didn't come despite good efforts from Stone, Fordyce and Duffy. Speroni put on a good performance between the sticks for the visitors, although after tipping Berger's long shot in when playing for the Palace first team at Fratton in September, perhaps he was out to exorcise a few demons.
Anyway, as with all reserve games it's not really the results that count, and seeing Stone escape an evening's work unscathed is good enough for me.