SAINTS Women boss Marieanne Spacey-Cale insisted they still have "everything to fight for" after their 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on Sunday.

Wales international Mary McAteer scored the game's only goal as Saints missed a chance to climb to top spot in the Barclays Women's Championship.

McAteer's winner, which was scored early in the second half, came after a succession of chances for Saints before the break.

Speaking to the club's media team, Spacey-Cale said: “I thought we were excellent in the first half. We moved the ball well, we created chances and we really dominated the game.

"I thought we nullified what we anticipated they would do. We went in at 0-0 when it could have been two or three for us. It was a different story in the second half.

“One thing about this group of players is they converted their one and only or best chance. We had to dig in and I know these girls will always dig in.

“They will always keep fighting as hard as they can. We kept trying to push for that equaliser because if we scored that, who knows what could have happened.

“We spoke before the game about controlling what we can control. Sometimes there are things out of your control that you can’t do anything about.

“Some of the things that were being let go and some of the things that were getting pulled up - it was two teams battling it out - sometimes you have to accept the decisions go against you.”

Southampton remain third in the Women’s Championship, but the gap to league leaders Sunderland has now extended to four points.

Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace also sit four points off the top spot, however, they have two games in hand over Saints and Sunderland.

“We have to lick our wounds and get ready to go again in the next game we play,” Spacey-Cale continued.

“We knew this was going to be a tight game. Everything is really tight at the top end of the table. Like I said to the girls just now, we are disappointed, but I didn’t need to say too much to them because they're all feeling it.

“We have got to make sure we put this disappointment behind us. We still have everything left to fight for. We have got to back these players and trust them that they will do that.

"We can’t dwell on this because there are other important games coming up. We are hurting at the minute. We trust each other and believe in each other.

"We know we will keep working hard and pushing to be better in the next game. Nothing is over. This result has gone to Sunderland and they stay at the top of the table.

"There is a lot of football still to be played. If we dwell on this and start thinking that everything is done and dusted then we are not going to be able to prove ourselves. We will make sure we respond from this.”