Jay Sadler must hold hands up as Portsmouth Women thrashed by Durham
Portsmouth Women had a day to forget on Sunday as they were hammered by Durham Women in the Women’s Super League 2.
A hat-trick from Aimee Claypole and goals from Sarah Wilson, Carly Johns and Eleanor Ryan Doyle all proved to be too much for the Blues to handle, in what was a disappointing day for the fans.
The defeat left Portsmouth 10th in the league table, and worryingly for them, Sheffield United sit just three points behind them now while boasting a game in hand.
The Blades could end up overtaking Portsmouth Women before the season ends, which would leave the Blues bottom of the division.
Sadler speaks out after heavy loss
Sadler struggled to influence the game from a tactical perspective, which is a problem for the team as they look to try and move up the table.
Sadler made one change to the starting lineup from that which began against Southampton as Emma Thompson replaced Meg Hornby, but she was unable to make much of an impact on their offensive output.
| Match Stats | Durham | Portsmouth |
| Possession | 52% | 48% |
| Shots | 8 | 10 |
| Total Shots | 8 | 4 |
| Fouls | 6 | 10 |
The Pompey Women’s boss attempted to make some changes throughout the second half with various substitutes, but things only went from bad to worse in the second half.
The Blues were two goals behind at half time, but as more tweaks were made, the situation got worse as they conceded a further four goals in the second half.
Portsmouth Women have improvements to make
Many improvements need to be made moving forward for Portsmouth Women if they want to avoid finishing bottom of the league this season.
The pressure is starting to mount on Sadler’s side as they approach their final two fixtures of the season against Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers.
The latter of those games will prove to be the most important as Blackburn sit just one place and two points above them at the moment.
But much like the Blades, Blackburn haven’t played as many games as Pompey, which is placing Sadler’s team in a tough position where they will be relying on other results.