Southampton were 1-0 winners over Portsmouth in the FA Women’s National League, watched by 1,450 at Fratton Park.
An Ava Rowbotham free-kick for Portsmouth was punched clear by Kayla Rendell and Sammy Quayle couldn’t quite find the finish from a Shannon Albuery cross.
Southampton’s Georgie Freeland had a shot on the turn from the edge of the box approaching half-time but Hannah Haughton made the save.
Quayle and Albuery combined again after the break but a Caitlin Morris tackle kept Saints on level terms.
Alisha Ware forced Haughton into a smart save and with six minutes remaining she parried a shot from Lucia Kendall, with Ware’s cross then deflected in to her own net by the unfortunate Danielle Rowe.
It was a ninth win in ten for the Saints and put them within six points of Southern Premier Division leaders Ipswich Town, with one game still in hand.
