Southampton Ends Derby Drought With Win Over Portsmouth

On October 11, 2026, Southampton defeated Portsmouth 1-0 at St Mary's Stadium in the South Coast derby, with James Bree scoring the decisive goal as the hosts secured a league victory over their rivals for the first time since November 2004.

According to Sky Sports, Southampton played the entire second half with 10 men after Cameron Bragg received a second yellow card before halftime. The result came in the 35th league meeting between the two clubs.

Portsmouth started the match as the more active side, but Southampton took the lead when Finn Azaz delivered a pass that allowed Bree to control the ball and finish past goalkeeper Nico Schmid.

The hosts created few major chances after the goal before Bragg's dismissal changed the match. According to Sky Sports, Portsmouth recorded 10 second-half shots but failed to place any on target, with a second-half expected goals figure of 0.51.

Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert said the victory required significant defensive effort after his team went down to 10 players.

"It means everything. We had to dig deep, probably a lot deeper than we thought before the game and credit to the boys because they deserved that," said Tonda Eckert, Southampton head coach.

Eckert also addressed Bragg's sending-off, explaining that the midfielder's involvement became part of the match's outcome despite the difficult circumstances.

"You know how much it means to him [Bragg]." said Tonda Eckert, Southampton head coach.

The Southampton manager added that Bragg's dismissal altered the contest and created a different challenge for the team during the second half.

"At the end, I said to him he gave us a game we would not have had any other way, so we'll probably look back at the end of the season and say this is the game that gave us a big push and he was a part of that. In a different way than he wanted, but it happens. It will be a learning for him," said Tonda Eckert, Southampton head coach.

Eckert said Southampton had to adapt after losing a player but maintained that the scoreline remained unchanged through the final whistle.

"I think it did change the game. Not on the scoreline, but the game changes then and you need to find different qualities. We knew then we had to dig deep," said Tonda Eckert, Southampton head coach.

The victory marked Southampton's first league South Coast derby win since a 2-1 Premier League victory on November 13, 2004, when Kevin Phillips scored the winning goal.