Stoke City: Lewis Koumas and Sam Gallagher react to stunning Tom Cannon display | OneFootball

The Potters striker was fantastic on Wednesday evening, as his side eased past Portsmouth.

Narcis Pelach won his first game in charge of Stoke City in spectacular fashion on Wednesday evening, as they blew Portsmouth away in a 6-1 victory.

The bet365 Stadium was treated to an excellent performance from the Potters, with Andrew Moran and Sam Gallagher picking up their first goals in red-and-white since their summer moves from Blackburn Rovers, but it was truly the Tom Cannon show, as the Leicester City loanee scored four times.

The 21-year-old failed to find the back of the net during his first three appearances for Stoke, but showed no signs of a continuation of his drought, firing in his team's first goal just 13 minutes into the game.

Pompey did equalise with a stunning counter-attack with Mark O'Mahony to level the game just before the half-hour mark. However, Cannon's second strike and Gallagher's first of the season gave the home side control heading into the break.

The former Preston North End striker brought up his hat-trick three minutes after half-time, adding a fourth just three minutes later, allowing Andrew Moran to complete the rout in the 53rd minute.

Cannon's teammates react to extraordinary performance

Cannon proved why there was so much interest in him throughout the summer with his four-goal performance, easing any worries that his lack of scoring from last season was carrying over to 2024/25.

All four of his goals were very different to one another, finding the back of the net with a free-kick, a penalty, a near-post strike while sprinting through and an effort that nestled perfectly into the bottom corner.

After such an amazing showing, he earned all the plaudits from his teammates in reply to his own Instagram post, where he simply put: "What a night 4️⃣"

Gallagher, who marked his first start for Stoke with a goal and an assist, wrote: "TC 😮‍💨"

Cannon can carry new-found confidence into Swansea City clash

After failing to properly test opposition goalkeepers in his first three appearances, it was vital for Cannon to get off the mark, and to do that in the fashion that he did will only breed new confidence into him.

His previous two seasons at this level saw him score eight goals for Preston and just two for Leicester, and in the space of 90 minutes he has already beaten his tally from his campaign in the Championship with the Foxes, and is halfway to equaling his Lilywhites number.

The 21-year-old will be hoping to carry this form into Saturday's game against Swansea City, who have had a stop-start opening eight matches.

Pelach must get his team playing the same free-flowing football in South Wales this weekend as they did against Portsmouth, as at times, Pompey could not even get close to Stoke. But, they will face a tougher challenge against the Swans.

Nevertheless, with Cannon now firing, the Potters will be hoping that they can build a run to take them up towards the top half of the division.