‘Only heard our fans’: Southampton boss Tonda Eckert makes surprise south-coast derby claim after Portsmouth battle
Pompey claimed a 1-1 draw against Southampton in the latest south-coast derby on Sunday afternoon.
Tonda Eckert has explained how he ‘only heard’ the travelling Southampton fans in Sunday’s south-coast derby draw at Fratton Park.
And the head coach has ‘mixed feelings’ after missing out on victory, having gave away a second-half lead late in the affair.
Despite Leo Scienza slotting past Nicolas Schmid to give the visitors a lead after 57 minutes, the Blues responded 20 minutes later when Ebou Adams bundled the ball into the net to send Fratton into ruptures.
His 77th-minute equaliser - and his first for Pompey are making the move from Derby County earlier in the month - ensured the points were split as Mousinho’s side climbed back out of the relegation zone.
Southampton boss’ surprise admission after Pompey draw
Of which, 2,651 of those were Southampton fans, who attempted to make their voices heard over the boisterous Fratton faithful, who were relentless with their backing throughout the afternoon.
In a surprising remark, Eckert admitted he could only hear the travelling support, who were ‘a lot louder’ than the Blues at PO4.
He told BBC Radio Solent: Our fans are incredible, I only heard our fans sing.
‘They (Pompey) had a quick moment when they came on top after the game but I think we were a lot louder.
‘The support was amazing before the game when we walked into the stadium.’
The contest represented Eckert’s first south-coast derby in the St Mary’s hot-seat after taking permanent charge in December.
Southampton boss’ assessment after south-coast derby draw
Since then, the Saints have claimed just three wins out of 11 and gave away a second-half lead against Pompey to close the seven-point deficit to the play-offs.
And the Southampton boss explained he had ‘mixed feelings’ after coming away from Fratton Park with a point.
He added: ‘Mixed feelings. I think when we go up, we just need to make sure we get those games over the line.
‘We know it was going to be a fight today and we did fight for the whole length of the game, but in the end if we do score the first goal we just need to make sure we bring it over the line.
‘We are moving forward in terms of resilience. I think after the first goal that we scored, the game went into all directions.
‘That’s normally when you play away and concede from a corner you need to manage those moments that comes straight after. I think we did this a lot better than in previous games.’