Southampton1-0Portsmouth

Southampton 1-0 Portsmouth

The biggest derby in England — a completely impartial assessment, obviously — finished with Southampton beating Portsmouth 1-0. James Bree supplied the goal, Cameron Bragg supplied an unexpected difficulty setting, and the remaining ten Saints supplied an afternoon of heroic inconvenience for our neighbours.

Saints nearly scored inside two minutes. Ryan Manning found Cyle Larin, whose finish was kept out by Nicolas Schmid. Daniel Peretz later saved Jayden Meghoma’s effort at the other end, but the moment that mattered belonged to Southampton’s right-back.

After 20 minutes, Finn Azaz lifted a lovely pass into Bree’s run. One touch to control it, a left-footed finish off the inside of the far post, and St Mary’s had its answer to all the pre-match noise. A defender doing the striker’s job. Very considerate of him.

Then came the complication. Bragg was booked for a foul on Ebou Adams in the 32nd minute and received a second yellow for pulling him back in the 44th. Saints had given Portsmouth a numerical advantage with half the match still to play. Peretz immediately earned his afternoon’s wages by keeping out Colby Bishop’s header before the break.

Southampton could still have made the game more comfortable. Azaz picked out Léo Scienza early in the second half, but Schmid denied him. After that, the task was increasingly about closing gaps, winning challenges and making Pompey work for every opening.

Adrian Segečić came on for the visitors, who made three further changes after 65 minutes. They had ten second-half attempts without getting one on target. Quite an achievement when the opposition has helpfully removed a player.

Tonda Eckert brought on Kuryu Matsuki for Scienza and later replaced Larin with Caspar Jander. With no recognised striker left on the pitch, Southampton concentrated on keeping the lead. Bree, Jack Stephens and Keven Schlotterbeck helped make the box a deeply unwelcoming place to visit.

The full-time numbers were seven Saints attempts to Portsmouth’s 15, with three shots on target to two. Possession was almost even. Those figures explain the tension; they do not change who took the points. Saints saw out the closing minutes for their first league clean sheet of the season.

More than two decades of waiting for a league derby win ended in front of 30,735 supporters. Five wins from nine league games mean 17 points earned, with the four-point deduction leaving 13 on the official table. Norwich away comes next, followed by Bolton at home.

One goal. Ten men. Three points. Portsmouth can have the possession of an extra shirt; we’ll keep the result.