Pompey win south coast derby
Pompey Ladies retained the Hampshire Cup with a 4-1 victory over Southampton at Gosport’s Privett Park.
Success means the Blues have lifted the trophy for an incredible seven years in succession.
They made the brighter start against their south coast rivals, with Charley Wilson and Tiff Taylor both going close early on.
And Pompey broke the deadlock on 27 minutes, courtesy of a thunderous 30-yard effort from Shannon Sievwright.
There was then a case of deja vu moments later, as Chloe Dark tried her luck from a similar distance and enjoyed the same result.
Southampton reduced the deficit early in the second half, however, with Jemma Tewkesbury netting against her former club.
But substitute Ini Umotong restored the two-goal lead, reacting quickly after her first effort from Taylor’s corner came back off the crossbar.
And it was Umotong who completed the scoring in stoppage-time with a delicate chip over Hannah Haughton.
Blues boss Perry Northeast said: “We’re delighted to win the competition again and we had to be at our best against a strong side.
“But I thought the overall result was a fair one because we kept possession well and created a lot of chances.
“We changed the side a bit from the previous weekend and brought in some younger players, but still produced a very mature performance.
“I was also delighted that so many fans came down to watch us – hopefully they enjoyed what they saw and will come back to see us again.
“Many of them were commenting on how we managed to match the men’s team with their 4-1 derby victories a few years ago!
“Now our focus turns back to trying to win the league and we’ll go into Sunday’s match at Keynsham full of confidence.”
Pompey: Beazley; Frampton (Quinn 90), Taylor, Rutherford, Bazan (James 74); Bloomfield, Currie, Dark (Umotong 64), Sievwright; Hillier, Wilson (c)
Subs not used: Clark, Kempson