Southampton Saints have all but assured themselves of the runners-up spot in the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division.

A 2-1 home win over Barnet kept them top of the table yesterday, but Sue Lopez's side will surely be reeled in by Bristol City, who are a point behind with four games still to play following yesterday's 4-0 slaying of Enfield.

Saints, in contrast, have only one game remaining at Chelsea next Sunday and Lopez admitted: "Our chance of the title has gone . The shallow depth of our squad meant we couldn't cope with injuries in the two vital games we lost against Wimbledon."

Cassie Thorp, making her first start for Saints, teed up Nicki Watts for the third-minute opener and Kelly Baker made it 2-0 with an overhead kick before Barnet replied from a corner.