Crystal Palace ended their four game losing streak in the Championship with a convincing 4-1 win over Portsmouth at Selhurst Park.

James Vaughan, on-loan from Everton and making his home debut, bagged his first senior hat-trick with Neil Danns converting a late penalty to add gloss to the scoreline.

Palace pressed from the off in the driving rain, Vaughan unlucky not to put Palace ahead as early as the 6th minute only for Jamie Ashdown in the Pompey goal to smother his close range effort.

But the 22-year-old striker did not have to wait too long to open his account, swiveling to smash home the ball into the top right hand corner of the Pompey goal in the 14th minute after Owen Garvan had burst into the box and squared the ball to him.

Kieran Djalil, who impressed out on the left wing, could have doubled Palace’s advantage in the 20th minute, only for his long range effort to be beaten away at the near post by Ashdown.

Moments later Steve Cotterill’s men were back in the match when a mix-up in the Palace defence saw centre-back Anthony Gardner head the ball over the on-rushing Julian Speroni to gift Dave Kitson the easiest of goals when he tapped into the unguarded net.

Owen Garvan saw a long-range strike tipped over on the half hour whilst Djilali hit the post in the 39th minute with a fine curling effort after cutting into the box from the left flank.

After the break Pompey started the brightest, Palace old-boy Hayden Mullins shooting straight at Speroni in the 52nd minute when unmarked in the box..

But it was Palace took the game by the scruff of the neck with two goals in quick succession from Vaughan, his second of the game coming in the 55th minute following a long through-ball over the top from Alex Marrow, the Everton loanee reaching the ball before the advancing Ashdown and poking home.

Four minutes later Neil Danns was flicking on Paddy McCarthy’s crossfield pass for Vaughan to again get to before the opposition ‘keeper, the Palace forward bringing up his three goal haul within the hour.

Neil Danns killed off any lingering hopes of a Pompey comeback when he picked himself up after being felled by Michael Brown in the box to smash home the resulting penalty to make it 4-1.

Pompey pushed forward to the end, only for Djilali to deny them a second goal by heading off the line in the 87th minute.