opposite direction. The deal was supposedly completed and the two Stoke players arrived at Fratton Park, but paperwork was not submitted in time for the transfer to go through. He eventually made an emergency-loan move to Pompey on 9 September Lawrence made his Portsmouth debut on 11 September in a 0–0 draw with Ipswich at Fratton Park. He scored his first goal for the club against Leicester City in the Football League Cup on 21 September. On 24 September, he scored his first league goals, a penalty and a deflected free kick in their 6–1 league win over Leicester City. On 2 October, Lawrence scored a late equaliser as Portsmouth drew 2–2 with Middlesbrough at the Riverside to notch up his fourth Portsmouth goal in just seven matches. On 30 October, he netted the winner from inside the box as Pompey beat Nottingham Forest 2–1 at Fratton Park. On 1 January 2011, Lawrence completed his permanent move to Portsmouth, signing until the summer of 2014. Following Portsmouth's plunge into administration, Lawrence insisted that he would not walk out on the club, but manager Michael Appleton said that Portsmouth could not afford to scan the injured calf of Lawrence as the Rudimentary payments for injury assessments could also not be completed. He left Portsmouth on 10 August 2012 after agreeing to a compromise deal to terminate his contract. Cardiff City Lawrence joined Championship rivals Cardiff City on loan till the end of the season as Portsmouth's dire financial situation meant they needed to take cost-cutting measures. He went on to make his debut on 7 March against Brighton & Hove Albion, where he set up the second goal for Cardiff. He scored his first goal for the club on 14 April in a 1–0 win over Barnsley. Lawrence was interested in making the move permanent but manager Malky Mackay stated that he was interested but signing him wasn't priority. On 8 August 2012, Cardiff had opened talks with Lawrence over a possible permanent transfer as Portsmouth needed to clear the wage bill by 10 August or be liquidated. After leaving Portsmouth, Lawrence revealed he was offered a new contract with his wages reduced (60 or 70 per cent cut) but he was told by administrator Trevor Birch the negotiations was withdrawn as the club couldn't afford an offer from Balram Chainrai as he attempted to purchase the club Previously, Lawrence was