Blues beaten by Charlton
Pompey Ladies’ title hopes took a huge hit as they fell to a 6-3 defeat at Charlton.
They let slip a two-goal advantage to drop to third in the Premier League Southern Division table with six games remaining.
The Blues broke the deadlock early on when Ini Umotong took advantage of confusion in the opposition defence.
And the striker then converted Sarah Kempson’s cross from close range to give them a commanding lead.
But they were unable to take that into the interval, as Emma Harrison and Kit Graham hit back for the hosts.
Pompey did go back ahead in the second half when substitute Charley Wilson played a neat one-two with Umotong before slotting home.
That was as good as it got, however, and Gemma Shepherd levelled from the spot after Molly Clark was penalised for a foul.
The Addicks then displayed some clinical finishing, with Harrison, Graham and Shepherd all scoring again to leave the visitors shell-shocked.
Blues boss Perry Northeast said: “It was a bad day at the office, although Cardiff also lost, so we weren’t punished as much as we could have been.
“There were some good elements to our play, but ultimately we lost the game and we have to improve.
“Now we have to put it behind us and ensure that was just a one-off and that we’re ready to go again.”
Pompey will not put their title quest to one side and focus on retaining the Hampshire Cup.
They face a derby against Southampton in the final, which takes place at Gosport’s Privett Park on Wednesday (7.45pm kick-off).
Northeast said: “We couldn’t have asked for a better game as we try to bounce back from the Charlton defeat.
“It’s a chance to show just how talented our squad is and I certainly won’t need to do much motivating for this tie.”
Pompey: Blakely; Frampton, Rutherford, Currie, Bazan; Kempson, Bloomfield (Sievwright 83), Clark (Dark 70), Quinn; Hillier (Wilson 57), Umotong