Villa followed up a miserable home draw against Middlesbrough with only their second defeat in 18 league games after keeper Scott Carson was beaten by Jermain Defoe's cool 11th-minute lob and then rushed out of goal again to smash a clearance against the legs of team-mate Nigel Reo-Coker for a freak own goal.

It all happened in front of England manager Fabio Capello who also saw Villa's international candidate Gabriel Agbonlahor miss a golden chance early in the second half.

And O'Neill managed to joke: "If this is what happens when Fabio Capello comes to watch then I must think about asking him not to."

But O'Neill admitted: "It has been a poor couple of days for us in terms of results but I felt we were capable of winning today - even when we were 2-0 down at half time.

"Luck deserted us but it's all about winning games and we've got to get back to that. We had a lot of possession and created a number of chances. Gabby is disappointed with his miss but we missed others as well.

"But we won't give up. There are still eight games to go and if we are capable of winning most of them that is what we must try to do. There are plenty of twists and turns left even though the margin for error is growing less."

O'Neill insisted: "Portsmouth's second goal was a fluke. If the ball hits Nigel anywhere else than where it did it goes out for a corner or a throw-in."

O'Neill refused to publicly criticise Carson who was too far off his line for Defoe's first goal but said: "David James (the Portsmouth keeper) is an exceptional talent and has matured into his job.

"The possibility of making mistakes does not faze him and I hope that's also the case with Scott. I've got Scott on loan for a year from Liverpool and so far I've been very pleased with him.

"But James at the ripe old age of 37 has just been given a new contract by Portsmouth which is a sign of how much they think of him."

Portsmouth completed a terrific week for manager Harry Redknapp as Defoe's sixth strike in as many games and Reo-Coker's own-goal gave them a third win after the FA Cup quarter-final triumph at Manchester United and the midweek success against Birmingham.

Redknapp said: "It was a great finish by Defoe, terrific skill, and that's three big victories this week.

"We've gone above Villa into sixth place now but Everton are the team to catch for fifth and we'll keep trying."

Two bookings for £7.2million midfielder Sulley Muntari meant a red card and a two- match suspension but like Papa Bouba Diop, who picked up his 10th yellow of the campaign to also catch a two-match ban, he will be clear for the FA Cup semi-final against West Brom on April 5.

Redknapp added: "It has been a terrific week for us and we did well again because Villa set us a lot of problems, particularly from set-pieces.

"They are such a big side that it was bound to be that way but without Sol Campbell I thought we defended really well in the end."

James showed again why he is in England contention with fine saves from Ashley Young, Shaun Maloney and Agbonlahor.

Redknapp added: "David is top class. Everybody knows what I think of him. And I don't think any of our England players did themselves any harm in front of Capello.

"Glen Johnson was very good again and of course there was Defoe showing his ability in front of goal yet again."

ends