Portsmouth extended their lead at the top of the table to five points courtesy of a thrilling victory at Fratton Park.

History will reveal that a goal from Yacubu Ayegbini and Svetoslav Todorov's double saw them home against Norwich, for whom Clint Easton and Mark Rivers scored.

But that does not begin to tell the story of a breathless encounter on the south coast.

The game turned on a 15-minute period in the second half which saw Easton cancel out Yacubu's opener and Todorov twice restore Portsmouth's lead with Rivers scoring Norwich's second equaliser.

The fact that Norwich contributed to one of the most absorbing games of the season will be of little comfort to boss Nigel Worthington, whose hopes of steering his side into the play-offs diminished yet further following a fourth successive defeat.

Portsmouth counterpart Harry Redknapp, on the other hand, is left to bask in the glory of a healthy advantage over Leicester, and promotion to the Premiership is now almost a formality.

The hosts were unfortunate not to fall behind in the opening 20 minutes, Zema Abbey hooking over the crossbar, Easton failing to control a header from Rivers' cross and Darel Russell shooting straight at Shaka Hislop, who also had to be alert to keep out Leigh Bromby's glancing header.

Portsmouth may boast the best scoring record in the division, but they did not fashion a chance of note until the 36th minute.

The hitherto anonymous Todorov threaded the ball through a mass of Norwich bodies to Kevin Harper, whose shot skidded across the face of Robert Green's goal.

Todorov's presence continued to grow after the interval, and it was his expertly weighted through-ball which found Yacubu in the 56th minute.

He delayed his shot sufficiently to deceive Green, dinking the ball over the grounded goalkeeper for his sixth goal in eight games since arriving on loan from Maccabi Haifa.

Worthington could not have asked for a better response from his side, who equalised straight from the kick-off.

Russell found Rivers, who broke through a dozing Portsmouth rearguard before squaring for Easton to poke home from close range.

Yacubu turned provider to set up Todorov three minutes later, the Bulgarian quickest to react after Adam Drury had managed to prevent his initial effort.

Drury had a hand - or, more pertinently, his back - in Portsmouth's third, Green's punch from a Paul Merson rebounding off the defender and into Todorov's path. A sweetly struck volley on the turn left the defenders on the line with no chance.

The goal came as a bitter blow for Norwich, who had cancelled out Todorov's first goal 10 minutes earlier. Rivers was again the scourge of the Portsmouth rearguard, drilling home after Linvoy Primus had only partially cleared Abbey's low centre.

Abbey saw a header kept out by Hislop as Norwich pressed for a third equaliser, while Todorov twice went close to completing his hat-trick in the final minutes.

Teams

Portsmouth: Hislop, Primus, De Zeeuw, Festa, Harper (O'Neil 45), Sherwood, Merson (Foxe 74), Quashie (Diabate 66), Taylor, Todorov, Ayegbini.

Subs Not Used: Kawaguchi, Pericard.

Booked: Primus.

Goals: Ayegbini 57, Todorov 59, 72.

Norwich: Green, Nedergaard (Roberts 88), Mackay, Bromby, Drury, Rivers, Holt, Russell (Emblen 88), Easton, Abbey, McVeigh (Nielsen 79).

Subs Not Used: Crichton, Shackell.

Booked: Holt.

Goals: Easton 58, Rivers 62.

Att: 19,221

Ref: D Gallagher (Oxfordshire).