SAINTS Women's matchwinner Jemma Purfield admitted she was just "happy to help" as her second-half header sealed a 2-1 FA Cup third round win over rivals Portsmouth.

With the score at 1-1, the defender got on the end of Ella Morris' terrific cross to seal Southampton's progression to the next round at Westleigh Park.

Purfield, who only joined the club in the summer, wrote her name in South Coast derby folklore with a winning goal.

Speaking to the Daily Echo after the game, the 26 year old claimed it was a squad effort to make it through.

She said: "We know what we had to do today. We came here. We knew it was going to be a tough test, but we are buzzing that we got the job done and we are a little bit relieved as well.

"It is nice to get into these games so to get on the scoresheet was important and credit to the team. The ball was fantastic, and I am just happy that I could help.

"The players are really happy. We came here to win ultimately and thankfully we did that.

"Sometimes it can’t always be the prettiest win and you must fight through it. Credit to us as a squad and the people that came on and supported us. They were fantastic."

Saints will find out who they will meet in the fourth round of the competition on Tuesday, December 10, at around 9:30AM.

Purfield is happy to face whoever they are drawn against but agreed it would be "nice" to welcome a team to St Mary's.

The defender continued: "We have not thought about it or looked too far into it.

"A home tie would be nice so we can get more of our fans down but whoever we get, we will be up for it and we will be ready to fight again."

Saints travel to Durham in the Championship next Sunday as they look to end 2023 on a high and crank up the pressure on their promotion rivals.