Southampton kept their bragging rights of Hampshire, with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Portsmouth at St Mary’s.
The Saints are now beginning to close the gap on those above them, with Newcastle United in fourth and Bristol City in third, both sitting on 19 points in the WSL2, one behind Southampton on 18.
It was a relentless performance from Simon Parker’s side, who had a two-goal buffer going into the interval thanks to goals from Jessica Simpson and Ellie Brazil.
That was then followed by a further two goals by Mary Bashford and then a fourth from substitute Aimee Palmer with ten minutes to go.
On the win, Parker stated: “We knew it was going to be a tough game; they always are in these local derbies.
“They (Portsmouth) carried a real threat, they play quite direct and quite vertical, I know Meg (Megan Hornby) from my time at Blackburn, and she is a really good player and really dangerous, and we were always very wary of her.”
After the two opening goals, Jay Sadler’s side began to mount a comeback just before half-time.
However, the Saints were able to kill off the game in the second half by adding two further goals to get the three points over the line.
On the second-45 performance, Parker said: “To score the two goals in quite quick succession helped kill the game and the flow of it; the substitutions impacted it as well.
“We decided to change the shape, just to nullify the two-v-two with the two centre-backs, against their front two, and bringing Milly (Milly Mott) just brought that security.
“Going to three midfielders as well allowed us to match them, but also our end allowed us to control the game a little bit more, which coincided with the changes that we made and the players adapting, which really made an impact.”
New signing Tegan McGowan, who has joined on loan from Birmingham City, made her Southampton debut and came close to opening her Saints account several times after her arrival on the pitch.
On McGowan, Parker said: “She has only been with us for two training sessions, so she is still learning how we want to play, but she is a very composed player, can play with both feet, and has a directness on her.
“She can run beyond, can link play, and she showed some real composure in certain moments, and she is a handful.”
Rachel Brown was amongst the other substitutes that Parker made, with the full-back making her first appearance in almost a year, after tearing her ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) early last year.
On Brown’s return, Simon believes: “She has been on a long road to recovery, and to get back on, it is massive for her and for us, and we will see how she can progress, and get back in the team.
“It is tough, with Meg (Megan Collett) at right-back, still got Milly Mott, and Rachel has worked so hard to get in contention, but it is a tough balance.”
Parker’s side now sit just one point behind both The Toon, who do not play a league fixture until the 25th, and The Robins, who will travel to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest.
On the league table, Simon added, “It is such a competitive league where anyone can beat anyone, and it is all about momentum.
“We have got two wins in a row at the minute, if we can keep doing that, we have obviously got a chance, but it is a real challenge, with the teams investing.
“Teams like Bristol, Newcastle, Birmingham, Forest will also invest in this window, and Charlton are right at the top, so it is a tough league, but we can just do what we can do.”
