South Coast derby preview: What colour will Hampshire be?

Megan Collett celebrating with Freya Gregory in front of fans after scoring a goal at Fratton Park | credit @saintsfcwomen Instagram

The highly anticipated South Coast derby between Southampton and Portsmouth takes place this Saturday 22nd March at St Mary's stadium kicking off at 5:30pm.

Teams recent form and current standing

The teams are currently one position apart in the Barclays Women's Championship table, with Portsmouth finding some recent form while Southampton struggle to keep theirs.

Southampton are currently 8th in the Women’s Championship with one of the worst forms in their history of the Women’s Championship. In their most recent game, they suffered a narrow defeat to league leaders Birmingham with one of their best performances in a while.

The 2-1 loss was a tight game, however after going 2-0 down, Southampton could only gain back one goal keeping them in 8th position with 17 points. Their last win was the last South Coast derby on the 24th of November winning 4-0.

Portsmouth are only one position below Southampton in 9th place with 8 points after a huge improvement in form with their recent games.

The gap in points is too big for Portsmouth to be able to overtake Southampton, however their relegation battle seems to be on the up with the team jumping from 11th place to 9th.

They have won their two most recent games against both Sheffield United and Sunderland. Sheffield United was Portsmouth’s first league win of the season, with a result of 2-0 and this past weekend they beat Sunderland with a result of 2-1.

These recent results from both clubs are going to lead to a very interesting derby.

Head to Head records

This season Southampton have beaten Portsmouth twice with two stunning results. On the 13th October, Southampton visited Portsmouth's home ground of Fratton Park where they came with a fight, beating Portsmouth 5-0 and impressing their large away crowd.

Just over a month later they returned to Portsmouth to play them again in the Subway League Cup group stage where they beat them 4-0 to gain the 3 points. In this game, Emma Thompson (now on loan to Portsmouth) scored her first-ever career hat trick.

Additional Insights

This fixture marks a significant event as it’s only the second time the women’s South Coast derby has been hosted at St Mary’s Stadium since Southampton FC Women clinched the FA Women’s National League South title in 2022.

The club is aiming to set a new attendance record for this match to hopefully beat their previous one set when they played Arsenal in the Continental Cup on the 23rd of November 2023.

Given Southampton’s previous performances against Portsmouth this season, they enter the match with a psychological advantage. However, Portsmouth’s recent upturn in form suggests they are gaining momentum, setting the stage for a potentially thrilling contest.