Pompey got off to the worst possible start as Diarra gave away a free kick from our own kick-off and Pienaar's free kick wasn't defended properly and the ball broke to Yakubu who headed in to give the Toffees the earliest of leads.
Everton continued to outplay a static Pompey side that was devoid of any quality passing and movement and could have fallen further behind. As it was, Pompey drew level after Glen Johnson's free kick got the faintest of touches from Defoe in the box to give us an equaliser against the run of play.
From then on we started to play the better football and put the hosts under some pressure without really creating anything clear cut. That football was replicated in the second half as we started strongly and if anything, looked like we might sneak a winner.
Then Andrew Johnson was introduced and he changed the game as the static Pompey defence couldn't cope with his pace. That created more openings for Moyes' men and Tim Cahill headed in from Pienaar's cross.
David James then had a rush of blood to the head as he came out to clear the ball from the left wing but missed it. Thankfully he produced a great diving header to stop the resulting cross going into the box.
Redknapp introduced John Utaka for the ineffective Papa Bouba Diop who had been playing out of position on the right but as we pushed for a second equaliser we were caught out by a long ball that Sol Campbell somehow missed and allowed that Yakubu to get in behind him, cut inside him and finish the game off with a lethal strike.
Too many players did not perform adequately today. Sol Campbell was sluggish, Sylvain Distin wasn't at his best, Diop had no influence on the right, Kranjcar created little on the left and the strikers were starved of service for too much of the game.
So our biggest game of the season has ended in defeat which now has effectively ruled us out of the running for the Champions League and unless circumstances permit an extra UEFA Cup spot or two then it's unlikely that we'll finish fifth either.
So that just makes next weeks game at Old Trafford even more important with the FA Cup offering us the most realistic route into Europe now.
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 6 - Had no chance with the goals, but nice diving header!
Glen Johnson: 8 - Can't fault him as he was our most impressive player on the night.
Sol Campbell: 5 - Not strong enough against Yakubu as well as sluggish.
Sylvain Distin: 6 - Should have done better.
Hermann Hreidarsson: 6 - Struggled with Everton's pace.
Papa Bouba Diop: 6 - Ineffective on the right.
Lassana Diarra: 6 - Tried his hardest but no impact.
Sulley Muntari: 6 - Average.
Niko Kranjcar: 5 - Hardly involved at all.
Jermain Defoe: 6 - Scored but didn't have enough of the ball.
Kanu: 5 - Harry's decision to start him was a bad one.
Substitutes
Jamie Ashdown
Lauren
Sean Davis
John Utaka: N/A - Not enough time to make an impact.
Milan Baros