Spacey-Cale sees the positives in Southampton’s derby draw against Portsmouth | OneFootball

Southampton’s interim head coach Marieanne Spacey-Cale was frustrated to see her side held to a goalless draw by neighbours Portsmouth at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday evening but she was also able to take positives from the performance.

The Saints made it nine games without a win while opponents Portsmouth’s recent revival continued.

When speaking to the media after the match, Southampton’s interim boss Spacey-Cale was frustrated with result but acknowledged Portsmouth’s much-improved run of form.

She said “It was an even game. You want to beat your local rivals and you want to get the three points, but it was a fair result. They’ve had a couple of good results over the last few weeks. We never took them for granted, we knew they would come out with momentum in the first half.”

Goalkeeper Fran Stenson made some crucial saves that maintained the clean sheet for the hosts and Spacey-Cale was pleased with the player’s performance.

She said “It was absolutely phenomenal. Fran [Stenson] is an exceptional keeper and she’ll be really proud of those saves, but she’ll be proud for everybody.

“She’s kept a clean sheet for us, she’s a great player, a great goalkeeper, but everybody played their part today.”

Despite failing to find a winning goal, Spacey-Cale saw positives in her side’s performance and she couldn’t fault her players for their effort.

She said “We’ve just got to keep working with the ball and making sure that our shape behind the ball is strong when we haven’t got it. I think we’re building, trying to be more possession-based again and create more chances.

“Today’s game was a tough game, so we’ve come away with a point. You know that there’s a lot more that we can build on, but I’m proud of the players for today.”

An attendance of 5,666 was recorded at St Mary’s Stadium and Spacey-Cale thanked the fans for their incredible support.

She said “The fans are phenomenal. Our support network, the fans that were here today, the energy, the noise, the vibe, they were superb. We just say thank you to all of them for everything that they brought to the game for us.”

Southampton are next in Barclays Women’s Championship action on Saturday when they travel to Blackburn Rovers.