Jay Sadler speaks out ahead of crunch Portsmouth Women relegation clash
Jay Sadler has spoken out as Portsmouth Women look to secure Women’s Championship status against Blackburn Rovers Women on Sunday.
The Blues have attempted to navigate their first-ever season at this level, competing against established and well-funded full-time operations, while adapting to their own professional transition.
It comes after just one year as a semi-professional outfit, in which they soared to the National League’s southern title last season and celebrated alongside the Portsmouth men’s team, who had won the League One title.
With John Mousinho’s side having secured safety in the Championship, Sadler’s side are aiming to achieve their equivalent.
Portsmouth Women season finale at Fratton Park – ‘one aim’
Portsmouth currently sit 10th out of 11 places in the Women’s Championship, with only the bottom side set to suffer relegation back to the third tier.
Pompey take on Blackburn Rovers at Fratton Park in their final game of the season on 27 April, with the Blues looking to add to the atmosphere and encourage fans to the stadium with a ‘kids for a quid’ scheme.
Should Sadler’s side come out on top, they will leapfrog Rovers into ninth.
| POS | Women’s Championship table 2024-25 | PLD | PTS | GD |
| 9 | Blackburn | 18 | 12 | -17 |
| 10 | PORTSMOUTH | 19 | 10 | -36 |
| 11 | Sheffield Utd | 18 | 7 | -23 |
However, unlike in the men’s game, there is no outright final day of the season with all games running parallel – Blackburn and bottom-placed Sheffield United Women both play their final match on Sunday, 4 May against Newcastle United Women and Sunderland Women respectively.
If Portsmouth were to lose against Blackburn, it would then depend on how Sheffield United fare against Sunderland, or even Pompey’s bitter rivals, Southampton, this weekend, who could condemn the Blades to relegation before a ball is kicked next week.
“The girls have alluded to it, and it’s one simple aim – to win a game of football,” Sadler affirmed while at Fratton Park’s end-of-season Portsmouth awards night.
“The recent form has been really good, and the atmosphere in the camp has been too.
“There’s pressure on it, but when the pressure is on these players, they come up trumps. It was a really positive point against a former WSL team in Bristol City, and the distractions and different kick-off times won’t affect us.”
Pompey win would ensure safety unless Sheffield United win twice
It could sound complicated with the permutations for survival, given both Blackburn and Sheffield United have a game in hand over Portsmouth.
But Pompey, despite their inferior goal difference by virtue of some horror results early in the season, could find themselves mathematically safe on Sunday.
This would be the case if Sadler’s Blues were to earn at least a point against Blackburn and the Blades were beaten by Southampton. This would render the Yorkshire side a minimum of four points adrift with just a game to play.
Pompey are moments away from a superb achievement, but there is work still to be done.