SAINTS FC Women forward Katie Wilkinson was thrilled to come through a "physical battle" with Sunderland as the south coast side progressed in the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory.

Wilkinson scored two second-half goals in the win against their fellow Championship side in the first game after the winter break.

The 29 year old opened the scoring with a calm finish before a late header sealed Saints' place in the next round.

Wilkinson paid credit to the patience shown during the game when speaking to Southampton's official club media after the game.

She said: "When you come up to teams like Sunderland, you know it is going to be a physical battle.

"We had to win our one-on-one battles and it took a bit of time to break them down. We were patient and we took our opportunities when they came.

"As a striker, you make those runs into the box and you just need that quality to come in and today there were two really good crosses. 

"The clean sheet is massive for us and we need to build a foundation from that."

The forward acknowledged that it was a positive outing in the first game back after the winter break and it's important for the team to kick on again in the next part of the season.

"We have travelled a long way and the girls were proper up for it today," she continued.

"We’ve spent all week prepping for it and to come away knowing that we are in the hat for the next round, I think it will be a nice journey home so it’s a happy day for us.

"I’m just glad to help the team get through to the next round and kick us on from the Christmas break now."