Blues hit five past Basingstoke
Pompey Ladies continued their defence of the Hampshire Cup with a 5-2 victory over Basingstoke at Furze Lane.
But they twice had to battle back from behind before eventually booking a semi-final clash with either Southampton Saints or Winchester City Flyers.
A shock looked on the cards when Charlie Powell smashed a free-kick past the desperate dive of Melissa Burns.
Skipper Gemma Hillier fired home a low leveller, but Basingstoke restored their advantage through Lindsey Beverley’s header.
But the Blues soon started to find their rhythm and some free-flowing football was finally rewarded when Rebekah Tonks brilliantly converted Tash Stephens’ cross.
And the hosts took the lead for the first time just before the break, as Nadine Bazan struck her first goal of the season from the edge of the box.
They continued to move through the gears after the interval and Samantha Quayle was rewarded for some impressive play with her first of the afternoon.
A second arrived on 72 minutes, with Quayle capitalising on some good build-up play from Shannon Sievwright and Hillier to net Pompey’s fifth.
She nearly completed a hat-trick moment later, only to be denied by a stunning fingertip save from Erin Davis-Donne.
Blues boss Jay Sadler said: “It took us a while to get into the game, although I don’t think that was down to complacency.
“We have won this competition nine years on the bounce and will be expected to win it again – that can bring some pressure.
“We were playing a team from a league below us, but I think that we’ve started games slowly in the past.
“It’s something we need to work on as a team to make sure we come out of the blocks all guns blazing.
“Once we got going we were really exciting in spells. We moved through the gears and put in a good performance.”
Pompey: Burns, Bazan, Tonks, Currie, Peck, Kirby, Bloomfield (Sievwright 55), Carleton, Stephens (Bell 69), Hillier (c), Quayle
Subs not used: Trodd, Capel-Watson, James