It's back - Portsmouth and Southampton set for record-breaking south-coast derby with huge 14,000 crowd tipped
It was the lowest point of his managerial career, now Pompey’s Women’s boss is eyeing revenge - and what better stage than a south-coast derby expected to break records.
Southampton FC Women are bidding to smash their St Mary’s attendance best for a women’s football match when their Blues counterparts visit on Saturday (5.30pm).
The previous record of 7,012 was set against Sunderland in January, with Blues head coach Jay Sadler believing Saturday’s figure could well be around the 14,000 mark.
However, they now head to their neighbours full of confidence after successive wins have lifted them off the bottom of the table for the first time in six months.
And with Southampton on an eight-game winless streak in all competitions stretching back to November - costing head coach Remi Allen her job - Saturday’s clash could be a great leveller.
Sadler told The News: ‘This isn’t just a league game, it’s a derby. That’s why they are channelling everything into advertising that game, with 14,000 expected.
‘In my 230-240 matches in football, I cannot think of anything worse than when we lost to them in October.
‘It was Southampton. At Fratton. No goals scored. Five against. That was a hard one to mentally bounce back from individually, for players and for staff.
‘We imploded that day. I thought we had played well, then went 2-0 down. Then it was three, four, five. There was a lot of emotion in that game and unfortunately we weren’t in a position to compete.
‘Now we are a completely different team and in a much better position following successive wins. That’s what sport can do.
‘I have got to take some accountability. We had a bit of an experiment, we went to a back five, then a single pivotal, then a double pivot. We tried - now we’ve gone to something which suits the players and suits the league.
‘We went back to what made us good last season, not only controlling the ball, but controlling the pitch, being aggressive against the ball, backing each other up and, when the chances have come, we’ve converted them.’
Seven points since October
Southampton Women have picked up just seven points since that October league dismantling of Pompey, putting them one place above Sadler’s side.
Director of women’s football Marieanne Spacey-Cale is temporarily in charge at present following Allen’s February exit just seven-and-a-half months into the job.
And Sadler is relishing the occasion as the Blues bid to pull off the ‘greatest of great escapes’.
He added: ‘It will be a big occasion, but the occasion is also big for Southampton because they need a win.
‘They expected to be competing at the top this season, most of us did, and have had a drop off in form. They’ve drifted from the top and are probably now playing for a bit of pride more than anything.
‘Getting to the Championship in the first place has been huge for us. Staying here would be a massive accolade for everyone involved. Especially if we can also beat Southampton.’
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