Last-gasp penalty secures victory against Keynsham
Sarah Kempson scored from the spot with the last kick of the game as Pompey Ladies recovered from letting slip a two-goal lead to beat Keynsham.
The Blues opened the scoring after just four minutes when Kempson’s corner was scrambled over the line by Lauren Murphy.
And the lead was doubled moments later, with Gemma Hillier first to react after Jess Frampton’s shot had been saved.
Keynsham reduced the deficit before the break, but Pompey had an opportunity to restore their two-goal advantage when Kempson’s free-kick was blocked by an arm in the box.
The referee pointed to the spot, but Charley Wilson’s penalty was saved and the visitors made their opponents pay by levelling soon after.
Pompey poured forward in search of a winner and their pressure paid off deep into stoppage-time after Tiffany Taylor’s surging run was crudely halted in the area.
This time Kempson stepped up and she coolly tucked away the penalty to secure victory.
Joint Blues boss Katie Poore said: “We made hard work of it, but overall I thought we deserved the win. The girls would have been devastated if we’d only picked up a point.
“It should have been a more comfortable victory – we looked in total control after going 2-0 up. We panicked a bit after they pulled one goal back, but we were still creating chances.
“It was a shame that Charley couldn’t convert her penalty and that won’t have done much for her confidence.
“But the second one was awarded so late that we knew it would be the winner if it went in and the referee blew the final whistle as soon as Keynsham kicked-off.
“The game at Fratton Park on Sunday was probably at the back of everyone’s mind, with a few of our challenges not as committed as they would usually be.
“All the girls are really looking forward to the Tottenham game and we hope that there will be plenty of Pompey fans to cheer us on.”
Tickets for Sunday’s game against Tottenham at Fratton Park (2pm kick-off) are priced £5 for adults and £1 for concessions and can be bought online here or from the Frogmore Road ticket office.
Pompey: Blakely; Simmonds, Murphy, Summerfield, Bazan; Hunt (Taylor 74), Rutherford, Kempson, Frampton (Quinn 53); Hillier (c), Wilson
Subs not used: Bloomfield, Russell