Southern Region Women’s Football League Premier Division sides, Southampton Women and AFC Portchester, played out an entertaining 2–2 draw at Test Park Sports Ground, with Portchester’s Becky Bath grabbing a late equaliser.
The home side got off to the perfect start, taking the lead inside two minutes. Jessica Soares tried her luck from distance, and her strike took a deflection that wrong-footed the goalkeeper and nestled into the net to make it 1–0.
Portchester grew into the game and found their equaliser in the 18th minute when Lucy Nightingale curled a superb free kick beyond the Southampton keeper to level the score.
Just before the interval, Southampton regained the advantage. Soares’ curling effort forced a save, but Chloe Ball was quickest to react, slotting home from close range to send the Sirens into half-time 2–1 up.
The second half was tightly contested, with both sides creating chances. However, with five minutes remaining, Portchester found their equaliser as Becky Bath rose highest to head home, securing a share of the points for the visitors.
We were fortunate enough to have Gracie White (@SannMediaCo) on hand to capture the action.
