Jay Sadler praised his Pompey Women ‘underdogs’ for silencing St Mary’s in the south-coast derby.
Yet he admits he has ‘bittersweet’ feelings over the goalless draw, insisting his side should have taken all three points.
A crowd of 5,666 attended the Saturday evening clash in the Women’s Championship - disappointingly below Southampton FC Women’s best of 7,012 set in January against Sunderland.
The out-of-form hosts headed into the encounter without a victory since November, costing head coach Remi Allen her job, although had beaten Pompey 4-0 and 5-0 in previous league and cup encounters this term.
Sophie Quirk battles for possession in the goalless draw against Southampton FC Women at St Mary's on Saturday. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImagesSophie Quirk battles for possession in the goalless draw against Southampton FC Women at St Mary's on Saturday. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
Sophie Quirk battles for possession in the goalless draw against Southampton FC Women at St Mary's on Saturday. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages | Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
Certainly they would have expected better than a 0-0 outcome against visiting opposition who hadn't even won a league game until this month.
However, for the Blues, the Great Escape is still on - although there was disappointment they didn’t register a third straight victory.
Sadler told The News: ‘It was bittersweet in a way. We kept our unbeaten record going and obviously picked up a point, which was a lot better than the result we had at Fratton Park earlier in the season.
‘But I’m disappointed we didn’t win it - and that was the general consensus from the group at the end of the game. We had the best of the chances, the biggest one with Sophie Quirk late on, and we felt we should have won it.
‘Despite Southampton’s poor run of form, we knew we were the underdogs, but also had the belief we could win the game. Against the ball we were superb and had the better of the chances.
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‘Southampton were disappointed, there was a lot of frustration, this was a derby game in front of their home fans, so I don’t think they were best pleased. But, on reflection of the game, they probably would take the point given the fact we were the team which really asserted more control in the game.
‘Against the ball we were superb, really aggressive. The last time we faced them we were quite pragmatic, quite deep, and tried to deny them space, whereas this game we changed it up.
‘We kind of played the Pompey way of being really aggressive on the front foot, not allowing them to get any rhythm, we had a high turnover. We had the best chances too, but it just wasn’t to be.
Jay Sadler addresses his Pompey side in the goalless draw against Southampton FC Women at St Mary's on Saturday. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImagesJay Sadler addresses his Pompey side in the goalless draw against Southampton FC Women at St Mary's on Saturday. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
Jay Sadler addresses his Pompey side in the goalless draw against Southampton FC Women at St Mary's on Saturday. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages | Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
‘To come away with a point was always going to be a positive result. However, the overall feeling was one of disappointment that we weren't able to get the three.’
The Great Escape
Pompey made one change from the side which defeated Sunderland 2-1 last week to keep alive their survival hopes.
Emma Thompson, who is on loan from Southampton, was ineligible, opening the door for Emma Jones’ first-team return in attack.
Sadler’s side remain outside the Women’s Championship’s relegation zone with three matches remaining - Durham (March 30) followed by successive home games against Bristol City (April 20) and Blackburn (April 27).
He added: ‘Southampton didn’t get the turnout that they expected, with 5,666 in attendance on the day.
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‘In terms of the Pompey fans, some 200-300 travelled, you could hear them all the way. At the end of the game, the connection between the fans and the players was something special.
‘The last few times we faced them we lost 4-0 and 5-0, so to keep a clean sheet against them is good. As you do in football, you always want more than what you get.
‘However, when the emotion dies down, we will be happy we’ve got a point on the board. The Great Escape is the buzz word and that’s now seven points from nine this moment, which gives us belief.’
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